Car insurance is not typically something people get excited about, and they especially don’t get excited about paying for it. While good car insurance that covers what you need can get quite expensive, there are many tricks you can use to lower your rate and pay a reasonable amount for high quality insurance. It should be stated, you don’t simply want the cheapest car insurance possible. You want insurance that will cover what you need for the most affordable price.
Buy a Cheaper Car
For one, if you want cheaper insurance you can purchase a cheaper car when they time comes for a new one. The nicer the car, the more it will take to cover it if it gets damaged in an accident. This may seem like a simple thing, but thinking about insurance when looking for a car can help you budget your insurance and lower the price.
Report the Right Profession
Car insurers have strange standards when it comes to how much they charge for people of a certain profession. The rate changes depending on the money you make, but it doesn’t stop there. Some insurance companies have calculated who gets in more accidents according to the experts at the site MoneyPug, which is used in the UK to find the best car insurance. They have determined, interestingly enough, that surgeons get in more accidents than other professions, ostensibly due to the long hours and stressful jobs.
Still there are ways to get around these rate hikes. If you tell the truth while choosing a job title that reflects a lower salary you could save a lot of money. For example, if you write “cook” instead of “chef” you will likely pay less. “Kitchen staff” is another option. Music teachers typically pay more than someone who simply writes “teacher” and construction workers are charged more than “builders.” Basically if you can act like you make less money, use that job title. This will help your car insurance rate quite a bit sometimes.
Add Experienced Drivers to Your Policy
If you are a new driver or have just had an accident, a good way to lower your car insurance is to add experienced drivers with nothing on their record to your policy. While it will likely increase their insurance rate, it will lower yours. This is perfectly legal, but you have to accurately represent who the main driver is and what car they are driving. If you do that, you can lower your insurance by adding on a driver with a great record.
Read Insurance Renewals & Be Wary of Price Hikes
A common practice of car insurance companies is to increase the rate when they automatically renew your insurance, without letting you know what your rate was the year before. If you’re signed up automatically, you will likely pay more year after year, and there is often no way of opting out. It is usually difficult to cancel, insurance companies know that if you are aware you will shop around for a company that offers cheaper policies.
The renewals will be confused and will use soft language to make it seem like you are doing the right thing by sticking with them. They don’t want you to investigate what you paid before and will say things like “you don’t need to do anything” and “happy anniversary” when it comes time for you to renew. As it turns out, one in four people feel pressured to stay with their insurer. When your insurance is up for renewal, find out what you paid last year, what you will pay this year, and if you can find a company with a more reasonable rate.
Don’t Leave Switching to the Last Minute
If your car insurance is coming up for renewal, you shouldn’t wait too long to think about switching to a different firm. Most companies have a period in which you can cancel without penalties, which is typically three weeks before your date of renewal. On the day of renewal, you will pay £280 more on average and there are even bigger savings for young drivers.
Using a comparison website can also help you find the most affordable insurance for what you need. Comparing your current insurance to others, you can find the cheapest possible rate and save money for other things. Don’t be lazy. Do your research and make your insurance cheaper.