Here are some eye-opening ways to scrutinize and save on your car insurance.
Moneyshake car leasing has looked at 140 quotes and come up with some tips to tip the premiums in your favour, with a few surprising facts.
Moneyshake’s Top Findings:
- Third-party, fire and theft is 60% more expensive than comprehensive cover
- Decreasing voluntary excess can actually make your premium 25% cheaper
- Additional driving qualifications can make your insurance more expensive
Moneyshake’s Top 10 Car Insurance Secrets
- Lower mileage decreases your insurance premium – but ONLY by £17
When choosing car insurance, a common misconception is that drivers with a lower mileage benefit from a dramatically cheaper premium. Whilst they do benefit from a cheaper policy price, Moneyshake’s investigation found that reducing your mileage to 5,000 saves you just £17.
- Improving car security actually INCREASES your policy price
By adding a tracking device and locking wheel nuts, the insurance price increased. This could be due to these car security measures being classed as ‘modifications’ to the car.
- DECREASING voluntary access will save you 25%
A higher voluntary excess is thought to lower your insurance price, however, Moneyshake found that DECREASING your voluntary excess to £250 can make your policy 25% cheaper. That would save you £186. What’s even more surprising was that by increasing the voluntary excess, premiums were typically £6 more expensive.
- Having MORE cover can save you a whopping £448
Many drivers think that a lower level of insurance will be cheaper, as you get less cover. Moneyshake’s findings reveal that quotes with third-party, fire and theft cover are 50% MORE expensive than comprehensive cover – which is the only insurance that covers damage to your car.
This could be as a result of high-risk drivers being more likely to keep their insurance low by opting for third-party cover.
- Adding your child can result in paying upwards of £5,000
It’s commonly known that adding your spouse on your insurance can save you 25% (if they have a good driving history). However, putting your child on your policy can actually make it jump by a staggering 524% – many quotes with a young driver actually went beyond £5,000, due to the fact younger drivers are more likely to crashthan those of an older age.
- Adding driving qualifications INCREASE the price of your insurance policy
Although some providers offer a PassPlus discount if you speak to them directly, Moneyshake’s research reveals drivers with PassPlus actually spend more on their insurance if they don’t seek out the discount over the phone.
- The cheapest cars to insure
Cars in a lower insurance group are usually cheaper to insure – mostly because these vehicles have smaller engines and are cheaper to fix.
Moneyshake found that the cheapest cars to insure were the Nissan Micra, Volkswagen Up! and the KIA Rio, saving you up to £91 per year.
- Paying annually instead of monthly can save you £109 per year
Most insurance companies say that paying annually is cheaper than monthly. This is true, but Moneyshake’s research reveals that by paying monthly you generally spend 15% more over the year. By paying annually, it could save you £109 overall.
- No Claims Bonus can save you £356 per year
Moneyshake found that the average annual driver’s policy will cost £725 with 14 years no claims bonus, £842 with seven years NCB and typically £1,080 with no NCB.
- The five best ways to get the cheapest deal on your car insurance:
- Check comparison sites – don’t forget the insurers who aren’t on them.
- Shop around for extras like breakdown cover, as they might be cheaper elsewhere.
- Contact your insurer directly and see if they can give you a discount.
- Swap insurers each year – your current provider will try to match your new price.
- Consider a telematics or ‘black box’ policy to show you’re a safe driver.