Invariably, when you receive your car insurance renewal documents the premium quoted for the next 12 months will be going up. So, how can you fend off the rise in premiums?
Shop around
Go on the Internet and, using one of the car insurance price comparison websites, key in the requested information and you will be presented with a number of car insurance companies that will normally be happy to provide the cover requested and they will quote how much the premium will be.
Remember that it is not just about getting the cheapest premium as it is important that you have the level of cover to meet your needs.
If you can get the same cover for a premium that is lower than you are presently paying you can then go back to your existing insurer and see if they are prepared to match the premium quoted by an alternative company or even better it. If they will not then it is easy to transfer to the new car insurer.
Level Of Cover
There are three levels of cover-fully comprehensive, third party fire and theft and third party with fully comprehensive being the dearest and third party the cheapest.
What level do you require?
The decision is yours but if your car were only to be worth say £500 and fully comprehensive car insurance was going to cost say £600 per annum you may wish to consider one of the other two alternatives.
Pay annually
Whilst there is an attraction to pay your car insurance premiums monthly as it spreads the cost, when you do this, the car insurance company will normally also charge you interest which they would not of course do if you paid the annual premium all in one go.
Excess
There is a compulsory excess payable but there is often an additional voluntary excess that you can choose to pay of a varying amount so the more you are prepared to pay towards the cost of a repair the lower your premium will be.
Who drives your car?
If only you drive your car then there is no point having car insurance that permits anyone over say the age of 25 to drive as you will be charged more for the insurance.
Don’t forget that you can name who the additional drivers will be such as your spouse which, again, is cheaper than having cover for anyone over the age of say 25 to drive the car.
Mileage
The more miles you do then, potentially, the greater the risk of having an accident. Your premium is likely to be more expensive if you do 25,000 miles per annum than if you do only 5,000 miles per annum.
Therefore, check your policy documents to see the estimated annual mileage you expect to travel and if it is excessive notify your car insurance provider that may result in a reduction in premium.
Location of car overnight
Your premiums are likely to be lower if you put your car in the garage every night or leave it on the drive when compared with just leaving it on the road outside your home.
Security devices
If you have fitted an alarm, tracking device or immobilizer your car insurance premiums may be lower than if none of these were fitted.
Hopefully the above enables you to help contain your premiums.
