Learning to drive is costly, but life after the driving test gets even more expensive.
Every new driver knows that they’re going to have to pay a fortune for their first year of car insurance. Although it is incredibly unfair, insurance providers see new drivers as inexperienced and more likely to be involved in an accident, so are cheeky and skyrocket premium prices. This means it is important to do some research to find out ways to lower car insurance in your first year.
Why does car insurance cost so much?
When your insurer puts together a quote, they take into consideration many different factors, including:
- Your age
- Your job and if you drive your car for work
- Your postcode (insurers will consider many aspects of your location including crime rates, population density, accident rates and claim rates locally)
- The age of your car
- The make and model of your car and if it has any modifications – if it is worth more or classed as a higher risk to insure then insurers will charge you more to cover it
- Any previous claims you might have made
- Any points on your licence
- Where you park your car overnight
- The number of miles you will be doing
Other outside factors can also impact the price of your car insurance, such as:
- The rate of UK inflation – as costs rise across the board in the UK, it also costs more to repair vehicles due to increased parts and labour costs
- The number of car thefts in the UK – if this rises, it makes it riskier to insure and car insurance companies have to pay out more, impacting costs
- The amount of uninsured drivers – the cost of injuries and repairs caused by uninsured drivers is passed on to those who have insurance
- Insurance fraud – fraudulent claims push up the cost of insurance for everyone
Also, electric vehicles can have higher insurance costs compared to similar petrol or diesel cars. This is because owning an electric vehicle can cost more to buy, more to write off and more to repair due to the specialised components that they use.
We spoke to our driving instructor in London, Paul Towers, who said, “It is expensive to keep my electric car on the road, especially with the additional cost of the ULEZ scheme. When you see the costs for electric vehicles, it creates more hesitation for driving instructors who want to move to an electric car. It should be something that instructors want to move towards. However, we can’t afford the rising costs without increasing our lesson prices, which we don’t want to do.”
So, with all the above in mind, how is it possible to keep insurance costs to a minimum?
How to get lower car insurance
Here are our top ten tips on how to reduce the cost of your car insurance, whether you are insuring your first car for the first time, or have been insuring the same car for years.
1) Use the right job title
The way in which you opt to word your job title can have a massive impact on the cost of your driving insurance, especially if it is your first year. Some examples are:
- If you describe yourself as “kitchen staff” rather than a “chef”, you can save on average £98.
- “Music teachers” pay £86 more than just “teachers”.
- “Office managers” pay more than “office administrators”.
- “Builders” pay more than “brick layers”.
Essentially, if your job fits more than one job title, check your car insurance quote against all job titles and see the difference! Also, if you’re a full-time parent or are retired, check that box, rather than saying “unemployed” – this could save you hundreds!
2) Add another, experienced driver to your policy
It’s illegal to say that someone is the main driver is a car when they aren’t, but adding a named driver is legal, and it can save you money! With their permission, add an experienced driver who has a clean driving history and a good no-claims history.
The great thing about adding a second driver to your insurance is that if you do not want them to, they will never actually have to drive your car, they will just be on there to save money. It also means that in the case of an emergency, you’ll have another person who can legally drive your car if you are unable to.
3) Car with a small engine size
Naturally, the higher the engine size you choose, the more your insurance will go up. There are many very lightweight vehicles now, like the Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1 and Fiat 500, that are only 1-litre engines and cheap to fuel. However, because they are very lightweight, their 0-60mph is actually faster than some 1.4-litre engine cars that are heavier.
Many drivers opt for purchasing the same vehicle that they learnt in simply because it is a lot easier to drive independently in a vehicle you’re familiar with. Luckily, due to how lightweight and reliable smaller engine cars are, many instructors go for these instead. For example, many of our driving instructors in Northampton, such as Lee Parmenter, teach in a Peugeot 308.
4) Avoid modifications
The moment you say you have a modification, a red flag can be raised. It may not affect the speed of your vehicle, but it may increase the cost of your insurance because they see your car as more attractive to thieves. Be sure to find out what modifications are acceptable. Alloy wheels often increase the insurance premium.
5) Get a black box car insurance policy
Deciding to get a black box fitted is the most guaranteed way of reducing your car insurance premiums. A black box or an app monitors every aspect of your driving, from your speed to smoothness, and is tracked by your insurance provider. This type is insurance is called telematics insurance, and providers think that if you know that they are monitoring your every move, you will be less likely to drive irresponsibly, and therefore less likely to be involved in a collision that they will have to pay out for. One of our pupils, Ian Samson, who passed after having driving lessons in Ipswich with us, told us he saved a whopping £300 on the first quote he found by opting instead for a telematics insurance policy!
6) Cut extras and increase your excess
Extras such as breakdown and windscreen cover add to the premium of your car insurance. Lots of extras to your insurance policy can cost you money, but as well as this, they may be already covered by things like your RAC membership. Check that you’re not paying for these extras already, before adding them to your policy.
Also, check how much excess there is on your policy – this is the amount you agree to pay should you get into an accident and need to make a claim. The lower your excess, the higher your premium is, so increase your excess and your insurance will be cheaper. Work out the maximum you can afford to pay and set your excess to that; adding an extra £50 to the excess can make all the difference.
7) Keep the car in the garage at night
One question that is often asked is: where will your car be kept? If your house has a garage, then it’s worth keeping it in there to keep the cost down a little bit. It means that your insurance provider can be reassured that your car is safe from theft when left unattended for a long period of time.
8) Get insured in advance
You can save £280 on average if you search for and get insured three weeks before your renewal date rather than insuring yourself on the day. Always compare and switch your insurers, as figures have shown that almost 6 million drivers accept their renewal fee without checking other insurers, costing them around £115 a year!
Also, if you can afford to, paying annually can often work out cheaper than paying monthly. This is because then you don’t need to pay the interest that you have to pay on monthly payments.
9) Low mileage insurance
It’s a numbers game: the longer you are on the road, statistically, the higher your chances of having an accident are. If you don’t intend to do lots of road trips and don’t have to commute far to get to work or college, then we’d suggest opting for around 6,000 miles.
Always avoid running low on miles and having to top-up before the end of the year as it will cost you a fortune. Insurance companies are clever and up their prices when you add on additional miles. They know you’ll pay for it because you need to keep driving your car.
10) Shop around
Before committing to an insurance policy, always do your research. There are many price comparison websites out there, where you can complete a form and a list of insurance quotations will be generated from many insurance companies for you to check through. You can then get an idea of how much you should be expecting to pay and choose a policy accordingly. If you would prefer to stick with your current insurance provider but they are quoting a higher price, you can take the lower price of the competitor to them and see if they would be willing to reduce their current quote or match the price. By doing this, you can save a lot of money.
