Media post: Saving Money On Car Insurance: 8 Simple Tips

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Car insurance is one of life’s unavoidable costs – if you need a car, you have to have insurance. While you can’t ever avoid paying for car insurance, you can stop yourself paying too much for it. Here are 8 simple tips to help you save  money on your car insurance.

Recommended reading: Survey Finds Only One In Ten Drivers Have Gap Insurance

Add an experienced driver to your policy

It may be a long time since you had to drive your parents’ car, but don’t forget your ‘rents when insuring your own motor. Why? Because you can lower your premium by adding an experienced driver to your policy.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be your mum or dad. Find the safest and most experienced driver you know and add them to your policy. (If they have taken any driving courses that will help save you even more money). But remember these two things:

• Adding multiple drivers (more than two) could increase your premiums
• Putting an inexperienced driver on your policy may cost you more money.

Make your excess as high as possible

The excess on your car is the amount of money you pay before your insurance company makes a payout. Making your excess as high as possible makes your premiums lower. Why? Because it reduces the cost to your provider if you ever make a claim.

While pushing your excess up is a great way to lower your premium, make sure it’s affordable. If you can’t pay your excess, your insurer may reject your claim. If this happens, you’ll have to cover the full cost of your claim.

Go on a driving course

If you’re thinking that passing your test is the last time you’ll need to learn, think again. Going on a driving course shows insurance companies you’re a good driver, one who’s less likely to have an accident.

The courses available depend on the region you’re driving in. For example:

• Australia has defensive or advanced driver training
• Canada offers a defensive driving course
• UK has the Pass Plus

Describe your job in the right way

You probably think your job title (unless you’re a stunt driver) means little to your insurance company. You’re wrong. For example, a car salesperson pays 13 times the average for their insurance. But that’s not all. Even choosing editor over journalist will impact your premiums.

There’s no hard and fast rule for selecting the cheapest job description. However, you should consider the following:

• If you pick a job that requires indemnity insurance your insurance could be higher
• If you select a more dangerous title your premiums will probably cost more

Play around with different job titles and see which one gives you the lowest premiums.

Pay for your policy in a lump sum

Some industries reward you for paying by direct debit by lowering the cost of your policy. Car insurance companies don’t reward you, they penalize you with a higher total charge.

Paying your car insurance policy in full upfront can save you up to 25%. Not only that, it protects you against the risk of missed payments – you’ll have no payment to miss. 

Use incognito mode or clear your cache

Information is stored in your cache after every web search you make — your browser does this to make websites load quicker. Great. But this information also lets car insurance companies know you’re a return visitor. As you’ve already shown an interest in their product, they increase their premiums.

It’s a sneaky tactic but there’s a simple way around it. By using incognito mode or clearing your cache, you stop telling insurance companies you’re a returning visitor. The result is that you’ll save money on your car insurance. 

Add a black box to your car

Car insurance companies reward careful drivers. Having fewer (or no) accidents will keep your premiums low. Simple. It’s not the only way you can save money through responsible driving. Getting a black box added to your car lets your insurance company monitor your driving and lower the cost of your policy.

A black box is the size of a smartphone. It keeps a record of when you drive, how far you travel, and how fast you go. It also reviews what type of driver you are by looking at how you tackle cornering and braking. All of this benefits safer drivers by saving them money.

Get a rear view camera

Whenever you submit a claim to your car insurance company they want to know everything:

• Who was driving?
• Where were they driving?
• How fast was your car traveling?

And more…

Your provider wants as much information as possible so they can make the strongest case for liability. If you can’t evidence your claim they may not pay out. This could cost you big time.

Having a video record gives your insurance company evidence to support your claim. Choosing a rear view camera for your car gives you this proof. This can help save you huge amounts of money. 

No one wants to pay car insurance but if you want to drive (legally), there’s no way around it. Using these 8 simple tips will save you money and make paying for your cover less painful.