Today I’m going to share with you cheap car insurance tips so you can find the best quote for your policy.
In fact, I used these tips to save hundreds of pounds off my initial quote before my 20,000 km road trip around Europe.
And I should point something out…
This is a non technical and easy to do step-by-step guide. Lets get started with my top cheap car insurance tips.
Step-By-Step Guide to Cheap Car Insurance
To use this guide follow the steps below using the cheap car insurance tips in the following section to aid you.
- Input your details on the big 4 price comparison sites listed below.
- Make sure you’ve followed the top 10 tips listed in this article.
- Read the section on European Cover if applicable.
- Try to haggle the price a little lower.
- Check if you can get cashback on Top Cashback Sites.
- Check the policy carefully before purchasing.
Compare quotes from the big 4 price comparison sites
The big four price comparison sites are Money Supermarket, Go Compare, Compare The Market and Confused.com.
You should first begin by creating an account and inputting your details into these four sites to find your initial quotes.
Now, use the tips below to adjust the quotes and find the best price!
Top 10 Tips for Cheap Car Insurance
You can use the advice below to adjust the quotes you have received from the big 4 insurance price comparison sites and ultimately find the best price.
Consider adding a responsible additional driver
Adding a responsible additional driver can actually bring down the cost of your insurance premium considerably!
Adding my mum saved me over £100!
Never auto renew a car insurance policy
Insurers have been known to charge you more for renewing a policy than they would if you were to join as a new customer.
They may take advantage of the fact that its easy to auto renew to charge you a higher price.
Ensure that you never auto renew your policy and instead seek out new quotes.
Third party is not always the cheapest so check fully comprehensive too
Once you have retrieved all of the quotes you can edit the type of insurance between third party and fully comprehensive to check for the cheapest price.
Job title tweaking can make the difference
The job title you input needs to be a legitimate description of your career.
Often there isn’t an exact description of your job title and so you can try a few variations to see which yields the best pricing result.
Search for new quotes around 3 weeks ahead
According to the data the best time to get quotes and purchase new car insurance is 3 weeks ahead of the start date.
In fact, this can literally save you hundreds of pounds on your policy.
This follows a data driven research effort from money saving expert which you can read here.
If you have multiple vehicles then multi insurance may be cheaper
If you have multiple cars in your household then consider a multi car insurance policy.
You can’t search for this on the price comparison sites.
You will need to go to the individual insurers and then compare the multi car price against the individual car policies to see which is cheaper.
Switching mid-year can be a viable option
There is normally a cancellation fee mid policy of around £50. You also won’t get your no claims bonus if you cancel mid policy, however, you should get the rest of the years premium refunded.
Despite this, you can often save money on insurance by switching mid year if there are good deals on the market.
Never take out the monthly payment policy (unless you have to)
Monthly payment plans are essentially a costly loan as you pay a higher total amount over the year.
If you can, pay the insurance premium in a lump sum.
Alter the voluntary excess
Often after you have identified the best quote you will be able to reduce the excess (up to a point) without it affecting the premium.
This is a good way to reduce your liability without an increase in price.
In fact, once I had identified the best price I was able to reduce the voluntary excess by £200 without it increasing the premium.
Drive fewer miles annually
Clearly, the amount of time you spend on the road has a direct impact on your premium.
Try to calculate the figure accurately in order to get the lowest price by not over estimating yearly mileage.
Extra ways to reduce your insurance premium
Here are 8 other cheap car insurance tips to help you find the best quote.
Take these points into consideration and then edit your information on the price comparison site to get the best price.
Extra tips quick list
- Consider black box policies
- Clear the garage out and store the car in it (secure location is cheaper)
- Ensure you are registered to vote (yes this matters!).
- Check the insurance cost of a vehicle before purchasing (plan ahead).
- Think carefully before adding young drivers.
- Consider which add on products you actually need (breakdown etc).
- Find an approved alarm or immobiliser for the vehicle.
- Protected no claims bonus can work in your favour.
Some of the above points can make a big difference. Buy a cheaper breakdown cover policy elsewhere if possible.
Secure parking makes a difference
Keeping your car in a secure location and ensuring you are on the electoral roll can also lead to a great price reduction.
Once you have adjusted the quote you should now have identified your best option.
If you spend a lot of time on the road you might be interested on my article on how to find cheap parking.
European Insurance Coverage
Before we go through the final steps, its important to adjust for European/foreign coverage if that applies to you.
Its also important for people planning a road trip to understand the rules.
Each insurer has a different policy so ensure that you confirm their terms and conditions suit you before purchasing.
Here are some key topics to understand.
Green Card
A green card is a document which you request from your car insurance provider that confirms what countries you are covered to drive in.
Often you are only covered for a set period of time abroad (in our case 180 days) so ensure you check with your insurer ahead of purchase.
It discloses which countries outside of the U.K that you are insured. It’s very important to have this document as well as the car ownership document when driving abroad.
You can request it from your provider, mine took less than a week to arrive in the post.
Border Crossings
I’ve written an entire article on border crossings within Europe so if you are planning to drive abroad I would recommend giving it a quick read.
Border Crossing Quick Tips List
- You will require proof of car ownership
- You will require a green card proving that you have insurance
- If you do not have insurance you will need to purchase it in advance or at the border
- You need to identify the country of origin of the car. In our case we had a GB sticker.
- You will need a European Driving Kit.
- You will need your passport and driving license.
Final Steps for Cheap Car Insurance
We’ve put together a lot of our best cheap car insurance tips above.
Now that you have found the best price and also checked for foreign cover arrangements if applicable, its time to haggle for a final price and make a purchase.
Haggle the price
When you speak to the advisor on the phone its worth asking if there are any discounts available.
Sometimes they can apply this on the sales system and give you a final cheaper price.
You can also speak to your existing provider and see if they can price match the best quote you have found online to save you the hassle of switching provider.
Check for cashback offers
Once you have identified the cheapest provider than you can run the quote again through a cashback site.
Its possible that on top of it being the cheapest quote you can also get additional cashback on top of that.
Checking the policy
You have no identified the best price for your policy and which provider you are going to use.
Its important to read over the policy details and double check prices before the final purchase.
There might be some things included such as a courtesy car or breakdown cover than can be removed if not required and reduce the price a little further.
Purchasing!
Now you are ready to purchase the policy and get out on the road!
Have you got any top cheap car insurance tips not mentioned?
I’d love to hear from you in the comments if this article has helped.
Cheers for reading.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links. This means I earn a commission if you make a qualifying purchase, but this is at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting The Road Trip Expert.