As the cost of day-to-day living in the UK continues to soar, it's more crucial now than ever before to save money wherever humanly possible. In particular, the costs associated with running a car are rising fast, and, according to some insurance experts, the cost of car insurance has increased by up to as much as 31 per cent for many UK car owners that's a staggering extra 44 pence per day.
If you want to shave pounds off your monthly outgoings and aren't sure where to start, then take a minute to take a look at what you're spending on your car insurance. The advice that follows is relevant to other purchases you make regularly too, so you could end up saving hundreds every year.
Shop around
The first and perhaps most obvious tip is to shop online. Companies themselves encourage their customers to purchase their products or services via the Internet. This is because it's simply cheaper for them to sell their products online, and means that they can then pass these savings on to their online customers.
There are various tools to help prospective customers get the most out of their online search, and quickly. To find cheap insurance of any kind - be it home, car or pet insurance, for example you can use any of the price comparison sites such as confused, gocompare, beatthatquote and moneysupermarket. Don't forget those sights that don't appear on comparison websites such as Direct Line and Aviva.
Check for discounts
If you already have car insurance, then contact your insurance company to make sure that you're receiving all the discounts you're entitled to. For example, those drivers who have passed the Pass Plus course will benefit from cheaper insurance, but if the insurer doesn't know about it for whatever reason, then that's already money down the drain.
Check you're covered
Ensure that your policy covers you for all eventualities. If you have an accident and weren't aware that you'd bought third party cover, then you'll be in for a nasty shock - you could end up losing hundreds, perhaps even thousands of pounds.
Higher excess
Offer to pay a higher excess. If you've previously agreed to pay, for example, £200 excess, work out whether or not you could afford more and if you can, agree to pay that. Be realistic, and don't offer to pay a higher excess than you could reasonably afford. If something happens and you're faced with a bill you can't pay, then you'll probably be left without a car until you can.
Mileage estimate
Most insurance companies require you to estimate your annual mileage in order for them to calculate your premium, so review how much you actually drive your car. Overestimating your annual mileage will see you paying over the odds, while underestimating will invalidate your policy if you have an accident and haven't already increased it with your insurer.
Don't forget that the rules have changed. If you have a vehicle, unless you have declared it as SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) it you must be insured. Find out more about these changes.
