Getting Cheap, Or Cheaper, Car Insurance

By Gemma Stanbury

There is really no such thing as cheap car insurance, but you can make it cheaper for yourself by choosing the right level of cover for you and your car from a competitively-priced insurer.

The most basic of decisions about the most appropriate car insurance to suit your needs is the level of cover; in other words, third party, third party fire and theft, or fully comprehensive. The most basic of the three (and therefore generally the cheapest) is third party only cover. This is also the most basic level of cover you are required by law to use the vehicle on the roads.

The addition of a further two levels of cover makes third party, fire and theft a popular level of cover for drivers who are young, or do not qualify for a no claims discount, or whose cars are low in value.

The highest level of cover, which can come with all the whistles and bells of optional extras, is fully comprehensive motor insurance. Needless to say, it is typically the most expensive.

Once your choice of cover has determined the principal parameters for the cost of premiums, there remain quite a few factors that can make your car insurance cheaper - and they are, naturally enough, all to do with the insurer's assessment of the risk.

The risk of either theft or damage, for example, is likely to be considerably lower if the car is regularly parked overnight in a garage or on a driveway. This factor alone could account for a reduction in the premiums. The way you drive also affects the risk of accidental damage, including third party claims. A useful rule of thumb to help keep you driving on the straight and narrow is to remember that one speeding ticket could cost an approximately 5% increase in next year's premiums, while two such offences could take it up by 20% or more.

If you choose a high insurance category vehicle, expect to pay a high premium - conversely, of course, secure cheaper car insurance by driving a lower category car.

Fitting alarms or security devices such as immobilisers to deter theft can earn you substantial reductions in the cost of insurance. However, do try and limit any further modifications to the vehicle, since your insurer may not accept the risk of certain modifications.

Finally, the less you drive, the less you spend on petrol, the fewer accidents you are likely to have, and the cheaper your car insurance may be.

Cheap car insurance might be something of a misnomer, since you get what you pay for in terms of the level of cover afforded. Nevertheless, there are certainly still things within your control which can help you obtain cheaper car insurance.

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