Expert Reveals 8 Tricks For Cheap Car Insurance Renewal - Including £50 Off Hack
- A rise in car insurance has been predicted as UK drivers return to the roads after lockdown
- Consumer expert Tom Church reveals 8 tricks for saving money on your policy renewal
With potential rises in car insurance costs over the next six months, it’s never been more important for drivers to stay aware of money-saving tricks to reduce their bill.
Tom Church, Co-Founder of money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk, revealed his top tips for those looking to renew their policies as they return to the road.
1) Look Into A Bulk Rate
If you have more than one vehicle and multiple drivers to insure, consider telling the insurance company about your needs upfront, instead of focusing on one policy at a time. You will likely be able to benefit from a bulk rate where you can save by registering multiple policies.
Just be aware that having a younger driver on the policy can increase the price. The more experienced the driver, the better the deal. That doesn’t mean you can lie about who the main driver is though - this can invalidate the cover.
2) Use Your Driveway
To improve the chances of lowering your premiums, make sure you park your car off the road in a garage or on a driveway. This way, your vehicle will be at less risk of getting stolen or vandalised, and this should reflect in your insurance price.
Even if your car is on the street next to your house, some providers may see this as a risk due to the fact it’s not on private property. These small steps can all add up to make a big difference.
3) Consider Pass Plus
A good way to be proactive about reducing your insurance costs is to take an advanced driving course such as the Pass Plus or IAM. This does mean investing money upfront, as it costs £195 on average to take the Pass Plus and £149 to take the IAM Advanced Driver Course. However, it will pay for itself over time as you will get cheaper insurance year after year. For example, Churchill offers 5% off your premium.
Before taking such a course, do your research and make sure your provider takes them into account when assessing insurance costs. Otherwise, you risk wasting your time and money!
4) Don’t Be Loyal
With many systems in life, being loyal and consistent will result in rewards - but this isn’t the case with car insurance. In fact, you could end up paying more over time in a situation known as the ‘loyalty penalty’.
Check major comparison sites such as GoCompare and CompareTheMarket to find out which cover is the best value for your needs.
5) Plan Ahead
You know when your car insurance is up for renewal, so take advantage of this knowledge by purchasing a new policy up to 29 days before the start date. When you get quoted ahead of time, you can lock in the price and avoid the number shooting up as you approach the expiry date.
Don’t forget, insurers will not necessarily keep their prices static, so plan ahead and get the best price possible as early as you can.
6) Go For A Lump Sum
Just as you may make monthly repayments to your credit card, signing up for a monthly car insurance plan is essentially adding another loan to your financial account - with interest included. Where possible, go for a lump sum by paying annually.
It can save you money in the long run if you save up in the months before renewal so that you can go for the annual plan instead of paying interest each time you make a payment. For example, we looked into car insurance for a driver of 10 years who owns a Volkswagen Golf and booked their car insurance 28 days in advance. The average saving on insurance was between £40 and £50 a year for those paying the entire sum upfront!
7) Pick The Right Car
This may be easier said than done if you’ve bought a vehicle you have no plans on changing any time soon, but if you have a lease hire or a second hand car which is on its last legs, it could be worth looking into a new model that is looked upon kindly by insurance companies.
Shop around and do your research - but as a general rule of thumb, sports cars with big engines will typically cost more to insure, while little vehicles with modest engines will be matched to cheaper policies.
8) Describe Your Job Well
It goes without saying that you should tell the truth about your profession, but do your research beforehand about the specific word you use when describing your job title. This is because insurance companies consider certain jobs as riskier than others. They look at data built up over the years to work out which groups of people present the highest risk.
As an example, are you a chef or a cook? Try entering both descriptions because you may find one policy is cheaper than the other. So tread with caution!
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