Compare car insurance and save up to £578*

Car insurance protects you financially in the event of you having an accident and causing damage to your car or someone else’s cat (and potentially also in the event of you causing injury to someone else). All cars and drivers have to be insured as a legal requirement in the UK - people who drive without the proper insurance can be fined, get points on their licence and even be banned from driving.

When insurers offer policies for car insurance, job titles make a difference because they offer insight into the level of risk that might be associated with the policy holder. For instance, journalists often see a higher cost because the perception is that they’re always driving and always in a rush. 

Car insurance can be cancelled at any time, but you might incur fees and charges depending on your policy and when you decide to cancel it. If you cancel it within the standard 14-day cooling-off period, you won’t be charged extra, but any time outside that could cost more than you expect, so it’s important to check your contract.  

In most cases, car insurance policies last a year and will auto-renew, but this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be paying the same or less than you already were. Most drivers start looking for a new, cheaper quote about a month before their insurance is due for renewal. You can check if your car’s still insured by searching for it at the motor insurer’s database. 

The best time to renew car insurance is about two-to-four weeks before your current policy expires. Most policies auto-renew but you won’t necessarily pay the same price, especially if your circumstances have changed. It’s important to shop around for a better deal, so you should be looking at your options in plenty of time before your current deal expires.

Driving without insurance is illegal, so it’s vital to make sure you’re covered before you get behind the wheel. The vehicle needs to be insured and you need to have the correct insurance to be driving it. If you’re caught driving a car without the right insurance, you could receive a fine and points on your licence or a driving ban.

The maximum fixed penalty fine for driving without insurance is £300, and you could also get six points on your licence. However, if the case goes to court, there is no limit to the fine you could receive and you could be completely disqualified from driving. 

You can make a third party insurance claim if you’re in an accident. The insurer will decide who is responsible, but if they say it was your fault, you’ll have to pay for any repairs to your own vehicle. 

If an uninsured driver hits your vehicle, you can make a claim as long as you have fully comprehensive car insurance. 

If you have third party or third party fire and theft car insurance, you can’t claim through your insurance, but you can apply for compensation through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB).

Your no-claims discount could be affected if you make a claim - as the name suggests, you get a discount on car insurance when you renew if you don’t make any claims, so the more claims you make, the less of a discount you could get.