Cost-Effective Car Insurance Policies

The cost of insuring your car can take a big bite out of your personal finances. Young drivers are particularly prone to paying a high price for their car insurance policies, as they are statistically more likely to be involved in a road traffic accident. To save money on your car insurance policy, it is imperative for you to research the wide range of available policies, and you may even be surprised with the amount of choice out there. There's truly a policy for every type of car owner.

Multi-Car Insurance

Millions of homes have more than one driver, and more than one car. If you are amongst the many households with multiple cars in your driveway, you may wish to consider taking out a multi-car insurance policy, designed to cover all the vehicles registered at your home address. Not only will you benefit from a single renewal date and premium, but you may also be able to acquire a discount when you insure more than one car on the same policy.

Short-Term Car Insurance

If your children are living away at college or university and only need to borrow your family car during the summer holidays, you may consider adding them to your insurance policy as a named driver. However, this can be expensive and may put your no-claims discount at risk if they have had any mishaps in the past. Short-term car insurance is the ideal solution as the cover is only temporary, usually between one and 28 days, and this means that you will not be forced to pay out for more insurance than you need. It will also protect your no-claims discount from harm, which saves a sizeable amount of money throughout the year.

Telematics Insurance

If you are a young motorist, you may find it difficult to run a car due to the insurance and maintence costs, especially since insurance costs can be elevated for new drivers.

However, you may be able to take advantage of cheaper car insurance by opting for a telematics, or black box, policy. When you take out such a policy, your insurer will fit a small black box to your car to record details of how you handle your car. In doing so, your insurer will be able to paint a picture of your driving habits, such as whether or not you are prone to sudden breaking, and will calculate your premiums based on the risk of you making a claim. Telematics insurance may help you acquire cheaper insurance cover, often without a curfew.

Comparing Car Insurance Premiums

Car insurance does not have to be costly. One of the simplest ways to save money on your car insurance is to use a price comparison site whenever you are approaching your renewal date and see if the insurance market has changed since you bought your last policy. Once you have chosen the best type of insurance coverage for your needs, you can compare the cost of hundreds of different car insurance policies to find the cheapest deal for you and your family.

Kevin Smith is a car fanatic based in Newcastle. His day job mainly involved freelancing in automotive topics.