Car insurance is a legal requirement for anyone driving on UK roads. Get caught driving with no cover and you could be fined, receive penalty points on your licence and even be banned from driving.
Adding another outgoing to car payments and the rest of life’s budget can be off-putting.
The cost of motoring is already high, let alone if you have an unexpected breakdown. Short-term loans could help you spread the cost of essential repairs over several months, easing the financial pressure. However, you should ensure you can cover the costs of repayment if you do decide to borrow.
One way to relieve the financial pressure is to bring your insurance premiums down. Here’s how to do it.
Build Your No-Claims Record
If you drive safely over a long period, you will start to build up a no-claims discount. Insurers reward drivers that do not get involved in accidents, and therefore do not claim on their policies.
If you are seen as a safer person to cover, you will see your premiums start to fall.
Compare Providers When Renewing
You will have to renew your car insurance each year and if you want to save cash, you should never simply let your provider automatically renew your policy.
Comparing providers gives you the greatest chance to see the best deals for you. You may even have some no-claims discount to knock off!
Make Use Of Multi-Purchase Deals
Whether you insure two cars under the same policy or tie your home and car insurance together, most insurers will give you a discount for this.
While the premium may be higher than just covering your car, it will almost certainly be lower compared to two separate policies.
Add A Low-Risk Named Driver
If your parents or a friend has built up a big no-claims discount after many years of safe driving, adding them to your policy could work out better for you.
You won’t directly benefit from their discount but having a ‘safer’ driver named on the policy could result in a lower premium.
Check Your Annual Miles Or Parking Location
When you apply for cover, you will be asked how many miles you do each year – the same process is in place if you take a car out on finance.
While the latter is a bit more speculative (it tends to pay to cover your bases a bit with finance), when it comes to insurance, accuracy pays off.
You might have signed up for 10,000 miles a year on your finance deal, but what do you actually do? If it’s closer to 8,000, for example, you’ll get a lower insurance premium.