Top Tips to cut your premium

Young drivers already pay through the nose for car insurance, so take our advice and avoid paying more than you absolutely have to.

 1 – Choose a sensible car

All cars are ranked by insurers according to risk and put into groups between 1 and 20. Group 1 cars are the cheapest to insure and Group 20 are the most expensive. Do your homework and buy a lower group car – it’ll make a massive difference to your premium. 
 

2 – Keep your licence clean

Sounds obvious, but the second you get points on your licence you’re legally obliged to tell your insurer and they’ll probably increase your premium as a result. Remember that if you clock up 6 or more points within the first two years of passing your test (the two year probationary period) you’ll have your licence taken away and have to redo all the driving tests. Contrary to popular belief, points don’t always mean prizes.

3 – Shop Around

Shopping around for a good deal has never been so easy. The insurance market is mega competitive and with so many companies now offering instant quotes over the internet, there really is no excuse for paying more than you have to. You should get at least 10 quotes before taking out a policy, because you’ll probably find the difference between the highest and the lowest quote is hundreds of pounds.

4 – Don’t crash

Each year you drive without making a claim, your insurance company will award you a ‘no claims bonus’ (NCB) or ‘no claims discount’ (NCD) which you collect until you have the maximum number (generally 5 years worth). The more NCDs or NCBs you have, the more money you will save on your insurance. BUT the second you make a claim, you will lose all them all and be back to square one!

5 – Don’t modify your motor

There’s nothing wrong with pulling out the old cassette player in your first motor and putting a CD system in there, provided you tell your insurance company when you’ve done it. The same goes for alloy wheels, body kits and lowered suspension! If you’re planning any major changes to your motor, it might be an idea to ask your insurer how much it is going to affect your premium first.

6 – Take advanced driving courses

Although Pass Plus is the most commonly taken advanced driving course amongst newly qualified motorists, there are other qualifications out there that insurers recognise. The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) run pretty inexpensive courses, as does the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). Aside from saving you money on insurance, the skills you’ll learn on these courses could stop you from having an accident in the first place!