How can you find the cheapest car insurance?

Very cheap car insurance, particularly for a strange car, to a young driver who is 17 years old, is very different to the cheapest policy for an older driver. However, affordable cover can still be bought by most drivers who can save money by knowing how to find quotes for the best low-cost premium.

Which insurance company is the cheapest?

No insurer offers the lowest premiums for every motorist. Some offer lower quotes for young drivers, including new drivers, teenagers and students; some for older, experienced motorists with good no-claims records; others specialise in finding the most economical deals for convicted drivers, including those who have been disqualified or have drink-driving convictions. Some charge more than others to motor car owners who live in high risk/crime areas; some shun expensive vehicles, sports cars, or older motors.

Which company offers the cheapest prices is not the important question, it is which one provides the best, lowest cost quotations for you.

How can young drivers get cheaper car insurance?

According to moneysupermarket.com the average motorist under 25 pays about £1200 a year for insurance. This premium can vary enormously according to the type of car which is covered. Small vehicles such as the Ford KA, Fiat 500, Kia Picanto, Peugeot 107, or Suzuki Alto are often amongst the most economical to insure. High-performance vehicles are usually extremely expensive to insure for inexperienced drivers.

Another way of cutting costs for youngsters is to get a Telematic policy. A 'black box' or other recording device will then be used to monitor your driving habits. If you are a careful and considerate motorist the insurance company will be aware of this and it could save you a great deal of money through lower premiums. However, if you are a poor driver who accelerates too quickly, exceeds speed limits, brakes too hard or corners too sharply these factors could not only inflate your premium, but you may find cover withdrawn completely. This would make future policies very difficult to buy in the future.

However, many Telematic policies come with restrictions on the total or weekly mileage you cover, as well is what times of day or night you can be out in your car. Weekends and evenings are the most likely time for younger people to be involved in accidents so your insurer may wish to discourage you from driving during these risky periods.

Which are the cheapest insurance companies for young drivers?

Companies such as Privilege, Admiral, and More Than sometimes offer the lowest quotations on price comparison sites to young drivers, but this is not always the case because there are other factors which may make them more expensive for individual applicants.The fact that this person is young is only one factor that the insurers take into account and others such as postcode, occupation and car will also have a substantial effect on the cost of premiums.

Should I get third-party only insurance?

Some years ago third-party or third party fire and theft policies were much cheaper than comprehensive ones. However, owing to a very high level of expensive claims, premiums for these policies have increased substantially. The most expensive part of any claim is compensation to people who have been injured, or whose property has been damaged, following an accident. The amount necessary to repair a driver's own car is usually proportionally much smaller. Insurers have found that people who've taken out this type of insurance have, on average, cost them far more than those who bought comprehensive policies. No insurer wants to attract risky business so many of them actually charge more for this kind of cover than they do for comprehensive insurance, which offers far better benefits.

You should always, therefore, get quotes for fully comp cover first.

Does insurance get cheaper as cars get older?

Whilst an older car can be cheaper to repair or replace in the event of an accident, it can still cause as much, or perhaps even more, damage to other people or their property in the event of an accident. In addition, many older cars lack the safety features that we expect as standard in modern cars, and they tend to have a higher accident record.

For this reason newer and more modern cars are usually the cheapest to insure.

Why is motor insurance cheaper for females?

It is illegal for car insurance companies to base their premiums on the sex of the applicant. However, it is completely acceptable for them to have a bias in favour of certain occupations. Since women are, statistically, less likely to be involved in large claims than men it is not surprising that people in more female oriented occupations, such as nursing, secretarial, caring or health professions, are charged the lowest premiums. A number of specialist insurance companies claim to cater exclusively for ladies; men and boys, however, cannot be refused cover if they apply to these companies. It is debatable, though, how many boy racers will admit to being insured by companies such as Go Girl, Diamond or Girls Drive Better!

Does adding a named driver reduce insurance?

If you are over 50 with a very safe driving record it is extremely unlikely that adding another named driver will reduce your premium. However, if you are a young person without a no claims bonus then adding an older, more experienced person to the policy may well reduce it considerably. It is vital however, that the person who actually buys the policy drives it the most. If the policy was taken out by a very experienced person but a younger one was actually the main driver this could constitute fraud; the offence is called 'fronting'. It would be grounds for the refusal of a claim as well as leaving both of those named on the policy open to criminal prosecution.

Which car insurance comparison site is best?

Price comparison sites could save you a lot of money by allowing you to compare quotations from – they claim – up to 100 or more insurers. However, they are not perfect.

If you compare prices on one of these sites. It is extremely unlikely that you will actually receive quotes from more than a dozen or two insurers or brokers. There may well be other companies which could offer you far better prices but all these websites charge a commission to their panels of insurers; they will not therefore show you these cheaper quotes from companies that do not pay them for the privilege!

Also, not only does each of these websites have different insurance providers on their panels, but they often receive different levels of commission from them too. This could mean that you could be offered an identical policy, underwritten by the same insurer, for a different premium depending upon which websites you compared the quotes on.

Research has shown that no one price comparison site consistently offers the lowest quotations to everyone. Therefore none of them is the best; and to get the cheapest possible quotes you should compare prices on several sites, and not just one. There are also companies such as Aviva and Direct Line, which are not on price comparison sites, which may be worth you looking at. Finally, your local insurance broker may well have an agency with a smaller underwriter which may be able to give you a better deal.

Can you get pay monthly car insurance?

A lot of websites now offer the option of putting down a fairly small deposit, of about 10% to 20% of the total premium, and then paying the balance monthly, over a period of up to a year. Many people now pay for their policies in this way, but most of them are stung by high interest rates that push up the total payment considerably.

Also, many of the cheaper (but well-known and highly reputable) companies will not accept monthly payments. This means that when you shop around for quotes, you may not be able to benefit from the lowest possible ones, so you could not only finish up paying more for your policy than you really need to, but also have to face interest charges on top. Where possible, then, you should aim to pay for your policy upfront, for a full year, in the normal way in order to benefit from the best prices.

Are optional extras good value?

Most price comparison companies give you quotes that may include extras such as a courtesy car in the event of an accident, legal representation, breakdown cover or even personal accident cover. These are very profitable products for them to sell you, and you can usually get far lower prices for these extras elsewhere. Sometimes, as an introductory offer, you can get these at a greatly reduced cost; however, the next time that your policy falls due you will find them listed at full price. You should be aware of this since it can be a very sneaky way for your insurer to boost profits at your expense.

What is the cheapest way to buy car insurance?

You should never automatically accept a renewal premium; too many insurance companies increase them year after year, hoping that their customers will not notice. You should not, however, delay searching for an alternative quote. Research shows that people who shop around a month before their insurance is due for renewal get cheaper prices than those who leave it until the last minute. Sometimes these savings can be very considerable. You should therefore compare quotes from several price comparison engines before deciding which one is the cheapest one for you.

Remember however that everything is negotiable. You may be able to find a cheaper quotation than the renewal premium that your current insurer has offered you; but you have nothing to lose by phoning this company and asking them if they can beat that lower quote. They will probably not wish to lose your business and you may well end up staying with the same company but with a reduced premium.