The last thing you want to do is pay over the odds for your car insurance, especially when you’re trying to save some cash. Find out if there’s a way to reduce your monthly outgoings with our handy guide to finding cheaper car insurance.

Car insurance essentials

There are many different car insurance levels to choose from, but all cars on the road are required to have basic cover which includes things like damages to other people’s cars or property.

What kind of car insurance is there?

You’ll find that car insurance offers fall into three main types:

• Third party car insurance. Only covering damage to someone else or their property, this is the minimum amount of cover you need to be able to drive legally in the UK.
• Third party, fire and theft car insurance. This offers the same as third party car insurance, but also makes sure you’re covered if your car is stolen or catches fire.
• Comprehensive car insurance. This is the widest level of cover and, in addition to the above offerings, also gives you the option to claim for repairing your car or someone else’s property when you have an accident that is your fault.

Can I ever not pay car insurance?

If you have a car that isn’t being driven and is being stored off the road (in a garage, for example), you can apply for a SORN (statutory off road notification) which will allow you to stop paying for insurance for the time it’s off the road.

How to save money on your car insurance

To reduce the cost of your car insurance, be sure to have a look at our tip tips.

Avoid auto renewing your policy

While new legislation came into play in January 2022 which said home and car insurers are no longer allowed to lure customers in with cheap joining fees then raise the price exponentially on renewal, your current insurer still won’t always offer the best deal. It’s always a good idea to look at what’s out there and compare prices.

Consider consolidating your policies

If you have more than one car, then it could be cheaper for you to insure them both on the same policy. It’s worth crunching the numbers and finding out if you could get a discount on both by taking out a multicar policy. Likewise, you may find that it costs you less overall if you take out home and car insurance from the same provider.

Take out your policy about 23 days before you need it

When you renew your car insurance policy can affect how much it ends up costing you. On average, quotes tend to be most favourable between 20 and 27 days before your renewal, with 23 days being the sweetest spot. Don’t shop around too early or leave it too late if you want to see the best possible prices.

Add a responsible driver to your policy

If a responsible driver is going to be using your car, be sure to add them to your insurance policy, especially if you’re a new or younger driver who may not be viewed as favourably by insurance companies. If you’re considered a high-risk driver, this could cut your costs considerably – but it’s very important that the new driver will legitimately be using your car, otherwise this can be considered fraud.