How to reduce your car insurance

If you have managed to build up a no claims bonus (NCB) then insurance companies will give you at least a 30% discount on your quote. As long as you are a careful driver, and make no claims, then your NCB will be the single biggest way to reduce your insurance.

Insurers usually follow this scale for no claims bonus discount:

• One year – 30% discount
• Two years – 40% discount
• Three years – 50% discount
• Four years – 60% discount
• Five years – 65% discount

Some insurers also offer discounts for six, seven, eight or nine years no claims bonus – but the maximum will normally be 70% discount.

But, even if you don’t have a no claims bonus, there are still ways to keep your insurance premium down.

If you haven’t bought your car yet, think very carefully. All insurers are different, and some will specialise in quotes for high performance cars. Generally though, the more powerful your engine, the higher the premium. This is because insurers equate high performance cars with high speed drivers – who are statistically more likely to make claims.

The same applies for special models of makes and cars with modifications – they all ramp up an insurance premium. So before you dismiss that 1.1 litre run around, you might want to get a quote for it first – it could save you hundreds of pounds.

The more drivers you add to your car insurance policy, the more your quote goes up. Only add people who are genuinely going to drive the car regularly. It will usually be cheaper to get temporary insurance just for a couple of days every so often, if someone really needs to drive your car.

But, if you’re male, it might be worthwhile adding your female partner to your car insurance. Insurance companies see single men as more of a liability, but adding someone else will bring your premium right down.

Use our comparison service to see how much you could reduce your car insurance by removing (or possibly adding) more drivers.

We’re not referring to giving it a wax every now and then, but instead making sure your car is safe and secure. It’s pretty simple stuff, but if your car is kept in a garage over night then it’s going to be safer than a car kept on the road. Also, if your car has an alarm, immobiliser or tracker fitted, it’s much less likely to be stolen. Essentially, if you’re less likely to make a claim, insurers are more likely to keep your premium low.

It might seem attractive to omit certain details if you think it’ll help your premium. But, if you make a claim and your insurer finds out you weren’t truthful, they will probably reject your claim. Even worse, lying to an insurer about some matters may mean you are blacklisted by all insurance companies in the future.