how you can keep your premiums low
Apart from shopping around to get the lowest price for your cover, there are
plenty of ways you can help yourself to keep the cost of your car insurance to a
minimum.
If you park your car in a locked garage each night, or at least off the road and on a driveway, this is can keep premiums down. Keeping your mileage within limits can also save money, with many insurers charging lower premiums for insurance if the car is driven less than 10 000 miles a year.You can opt to pay a higher excess on each claim. With one insurer, for example, volunteering to pay the first £100 of each claim instead of the more standard $50 would have saved around £30 a year in premiums.
And consider the cost of insurance before you actually buy a car. This is particularly important for men in their twenties. Faster cars attract much higher premiums, especially for men under 25. Don’t let too many people drive your car. Your car insurance will increase dramatically if you put your teenage children on your policy.
Proving to insurance companies that you are a better risk for them also encourages them to offer you cheaper cover. You can do this by completing a Passplus driving course. The scheme has been running since 1995 and involves a course of six driving lessons with an approved driving instructor. The course covers driving on motorways, on rural roads, in different weather conditions and night driving.
Drivers successfully completing the course earn a certificate issued by the Driving Standard Agency. Sixty per cent of motor insurers support the scheme, giving drivers with the Passplus certificate a discount on their premium. The discount should be equivalent to one step of progress on a no-claims discount – and this can make premiums 20 per cent cheaper.
If you park your car in a locked garage each night, or at least off the road and on a driveway, this is can keep premiums down. Keeping your mileage within limits can also save money, with many insurers charging lower premiums for insurance if the car is driven less than 10 000 miles a year.You can opt to pay a higher excess on each claim. With one insurer, for example, volunteering to pay the first £100 of each claim instead of the more standard $50 would have saved around £30 a year in premiums.
And consider the cost of insurance before you actually buy a car. This is particularly important for men in their twenties. Faster cars attract much higher premiums, especially for men under 25. Don’t let too many people drive your car. Your car insurance will increase dramatically if you put your teenage children on your policy.
Proving to insurance companies that you are a better risk for them also encourages them to offer you cheaper cover. You can do this by completing a Passplus driving course. The scheme has been running since 1995 and involves a course of six driving lessons with an approved driving instructor. The course covers driving on motorways, on rural roads, in different weather conditions and night driving.
Drivers successfully completing the course earn a certificate issued by the Driving Standard Agency. Sixty per cent of motor insurers support the scheme, giving drivers with the Passplus certificate a discount on their premium. The discount should be equivalent to one step of progress on a no-claims discount – and this can make premiums 20 per cent cheaper.
