Car Insurance

Car Insurance Guide

Many types of insurance are optional, but car insurance is a legal requirement in the UK.

The only exception is if a car has a Statutory Off-Road Notice (SORN), which means that by law the car can’t be driven on public roads and therefore doesn’t require insurance.

However, while you can’t avoid the cost of insuring your car you can often take steps to increase your odds of finding very cheap car insurance.

First and foremost, an understanding of the factors insurance companies take into account when calculating your insurance premium can help you reduce how much it will cost you.

Your Level of Coverage

There are three levels of coverage available in the UK:

Third party: This is the minimum level of car insurance required under UK law, and is essentially intended to protect other drivers when you take to the roads. To that end third party insurance covers the cost of damage to a third party’s vehicle if you’re involved in an accident and you were at fault, but will not cover the cost of repairing or replacing your own vehicle.

Third party, fire, and theft (TPFT): This is similar to third party insurance, but will also pay out if your own car is stolen or damaged by fire.

Comprehensive cover: As the name suggests, fully-comp is the most comprehensive level of cover a driver can take out in the UK. This type of policy includes everything that’s covered by TPFT, but will also cover the cost of repairing or replacing the vehicle of an at-fault driver. This type of insurance will also pay out if you’re involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, which isn’t covered by lower levels of cover.

Your Excess

Most policies have two separate excess amounts. One is set by the insurer and is an integral part of the policy. The second is one that the driver may set themselves, and is usually known as a ‘voluntary excess’.

To reduce your premium, then, you could agree to a higher voluntary excess, which almost always reduces the upfront cost of your car insurance policy.

However, it’s important to bear in mind that this does mean you’ll have to pay more of the costs yourself if you ever need to make a claim, or if a third party driver claims on your insurance because you were at fault.

Your Age

Both road traffic accident data and insurance claims data have demonstrated to insurers that young drivers represent a much higher insurance risk than older drivers.

In fact, data from Brake, the road safety charity, has revealed that drivers under the age of 20 are 33% more likely to be killed in a car accident than someone in their 40s or 50s.

Research suggests that this is because some younger drivers are more likely to take dangerous risks when they’re behind the wheel, while their relative inexperience on the road is also a contributing factor.

The increased insurance risk that younger drivers represent usually translates into higher premiums, while older drivers often find that they’re offered very cheap car insurance premiums compared to young motorists – particularly if the older driver has built up a substantial No Claims Discount (NCD) for the past 20 years or more.

It’s worth pointing out, though, that the relationship between older age and cheaper premiums does break down a little when a driver reaches their mid-70s, because data suggests drivers over the age of 75 are more likely to be involved in an accident than someone who is 10 or 20 years younger.

Drivers in their 70s or 80s are also more likely to be seriously hurt when they are involved in accident, which can also prove more costly for insurers.

Your Occupation

Your occupation can obviously impact your car insurance premiums if you use your car for work, because it will mean higher mileage, more time on the road and an increased risk of being involved in a road traffic accident at some point.

However, even if you don’t use your car for business your occupation can still influence the cost of your insurance, because some insurance providers use it as a proxy for your risk appetite.

It probably goes without saying that racing car drivers, stunt drivers, acrobats and fire-eaters have higher risk appetites than nurses, accountants or receptionists, and some insurers may consider that this appetite for risk could translate into speeding violations or other types of risky driving.

Your Location

Car crime is an important consideration for insurance providers, so your area’s crime levels can have a significant impact on whether you’re offered very cheap car insurance or a much more expensive car insurance premium.

Beyond crime, if you live in a heavily built-up area you are more likely to be involved in a car accident than if you live in the countryside, which means it’s usually more costly to insure your vehicle if you live in a large urban area.

Finally, where you part your vehicle will also be a factor – parking the car in a garage or on a driveway reduces the risk of accidents, vandalism and theft, which can in turn result in cheaper insurance.

Your Driving History

Your driving history has two elements – how long you’ve held your full licence, and whether or not you have any points or driving convictions on that licence.

If you’re a provisional licence holder your policy will usually be much more expensive, although it might be possible to reduce your costs by opting for temporary learner insurance instead of taking out an annual policy. Given the fact that many learner drivers pass their test in less than a year this is certainly worth considering.

If you’re a full licence holder you will likely find that your insurance is prohibitively expensive when you first get your licence, but gradually becomes more cost effective after you’ve held your licence for a few years…provided you don’t receive any driving convictions or have points added to your licence, of course.

If you are given penalty points for speeding, running a red light or some other driving offence your insurance will almost certainly be more expensive until the points are removed from your licence.

Your Claims History

The main driver on a car insurance policy can earn a No Claims Discount (also known as a No Claims Bonus) for each consecutive year they hold insurance without making an insurance claim.

In practice this means drivers can often build up a very sizable discount on their annual premiums if they are safe drivers and never have to make a claim on their own insurance.

In fact, some older drivers are able to build up a No Claims Discount of 20 or 30 years, which could amount to a 60% or 70% discount on their premiums.