As news comes in that car insurance is rising faster for men
than women, we look at the things car insurers don’t want you to know
about how to get a cheaper quote.
Cheaper car insurance without driving a banger
Car insurers know a lot about you – and use it to decide who pays
what for their car insurance. They know that surgeons have more
accidents where they’re to blame than any other profession and building
society clerks have the fewest. They know that Virgos had the most ‘at
fault’ accidents and Pisceans had the most convictions last year.
They
also judge you by your age, sex, where you live, what you drive and
your job – with unemployed people getting bills that are £227 higher
than the average quote.
The latest news to break is that men have
seen their premiums rise twice as fast as women in the last year,
figures from Moneysupermarket.com show.
So if you’re a young male
surgeon, driving a Porsche, living in Ilford who was born in early
September – you’re in a lot of trouble.
But that doesn’t mean car
insurers have to have it all their own way – we’ve found six ways to get
cheaper car insurance that they’d really rather you didn’t know.
1. Check you are using the right job title
Master "kitchen staff" would pay less for car insurance than Masterchefs
If you describe yourself as a “chef” when filling in your car insurance application, your average quote is £98 higher than if you
said you were “kitchen staff” comparison site GoCompare.com
revealed last year – and it’s not just cooks that have this problem.
“Music teachers” pay £86 more than “teachers”, “office managers” pay
more than “office administrators”, and “construction workers” pay more
than “builders” who – in turn – pay more than “bricklayers”.Basically,
if your job fits in more than one category check what the car insurance
quotes are for all of them before applying. For more on how your job
affects your car insurance, check out GoCompare’s guide
. And if you’re a full time parent or retired make absolutely sure you
check that box and not “unemployed” – it could save you almost £300.
2. Add another more experienced driver to the policy
Not everyone will save you cash as a second driver
It’s a crime to say someone who isn’t the main driver of a
car is, but adding a secondary driver is perfectly legal - and more than
that, it can save you money.Get their permission first, then add
an experienced driver with a clean driving license and decent no-claims
history to your insurance.
3. Never leave it till the last minute
Time is money, after all
Searching around and switching car insurance three weeks
before your renewal date, rather than on the day, saves you an average
of £280, comparison site Comparethemarket found – with even bigger
savings available for younger drivers.Oh, and make absolutely sure you do compare and switch
– figures from Moneysupermarket.com show 2.4million drivers just accept
their auto-renewal quote – costing them a collective £1.9billion a
year, or enough money to buy every house in Felixstowe.
4. Get some cash back
Who'd say no to extra cash?
Comparison sites make money because when you switch products
with them they get a referral fee from the insurer. But if you’re
clever, you can get that money yourself.Topcashback is offering up to £63 cashback when you switch through them, while Quidco pays as much as £70 . Once you’ve compared prices
and found which deal is cheapest, head over to one of them and see if
you can get an even better deal by switching through the cashback site.
5. Pay up front
Spreading things isn't always a good idea
Did you know that many insurers charge interest on your
payments if you spread the cost over the year? Well, they do. So if at
all possible, pay up front.
6. Cut your extras and boost your excess
How much cover do you really need?
What’s included in your car insurance quote? Breakdown cover?
Windscreen cover? Theft from the car? Driving abroad? Personal accident
cover? A courtesy car? Every extra adds to the premium. More than that,
a lot of them might already be covered by things like your travel
insurance, AA membership, home insurance or even your bank account.Double
check you’re not double paying and then look to see if you really need
these extras. Oh, and you need to check how much excess there is on your
policy. This is how much you have to pay yourself when making a claim.
The lower the excess the higher the car insurance, so work out how what
you can afford to pay in the case of an accident and set your excess to
that – even £50 can make a difference.
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