With the average annual car insurance cost for 20-year-olds sitting at around £851, owning a car as a young person can often feel like a financial burden. It can be frustrating to know that even if you drive more carefully than older motorists you’ll still forced to pay considerably more purely because of the unfortunate age group you happen to fall into.
However, while many young drivers give in to extortionate insurance costs, this doesn’t have to be the case for you. These 5 simple steps will help you avoid unnecessary expenses and bring you one step closer to finding your perfect car insurance.
Shop Around
This is by far the number one tip for anyone looking to buy car insurance. With insurance companies changing their rates as frequently as once a month, and new companies cropping up all the time, it’s always beneficial to look at a variety before making a final decision. Additionally, although the price is a primary concern, you must also compare each company’s included policies. For example, while one may seem cheaper, this could be due to the lower level of coverage provided.
Alongside being the most important step, this is also the one people find the most overwhelming. With so many insurance companies out there, it’s understandable that even just knowing where to start can often feel like an unachievable task. One way to tackle this is by using a reliable website like Quotezone.co.uk to compare your car insurance. This is a no-hassle, quick way of reviewing a variety of different insurance policies from over 100 providers in order to ensure that you get the best deal for you. Not only will it search through hundreds of different options in mere seconds, but it also only requires basic straightforward information. If you want to compare car insurance, this is the easiest way to go about it.
Consider a Black Box
Many new drivers are given the option of installing a black box in their car. This device records your driving behaviour including, mileage, speed, location, braking speed, and when you typically drive. As young drivers are more likely to have accidents relating to speed and recklessness, this allows the insurer to decide whether this would be true for you, rather than relying on statistics based on averages.
With this in mind, insurers may include a clause allowing a decrease in your insurance policy in accordance with your black box data. In short, the better and more safely you drive, the more likely you will receive a reduction in your insurance premiums. Alongside this, many companies that offer black box insurance also include cashback rewards and ‘bonus miles’ for safe driving. While the company you have chosen may not explicitly offer this particular insurance, it’s always good to ask as this can save you a considerable amount of money. Additionally, if an accident does occur, data on the box can help to provide evidence to support any insurance claims that follow.
Ask for Multicover
Many car insurance companies now offer multi-car policies, whereby people of the same household can get several cars insured under the same policy. This means that the price of coverage is usually split between several people rather than landing solely on you. In addition to this, the price of insurance may also decrease in accordance with the ages of individuals included on the same policy. For example, drivers over 25 years of age will often be considered low-risk drivers and will therefore have lower insurance premiums.
Pay More for Excess
Before choosing an insurance provider, it’s worth researching excess coverage. Excess coverage, the amount of money you are willing to pay towards repairs in the event of a crash, can drastically reduce the price of your insurance. If you’re willing to pay more towards your excess coverage, this can result in money being taken off your insurance premiums. This is due to the fact that in the event of a crash, the insurance company will have to pay less as you have opted to pay more.
It’s important to bear in mind that, while this will reduce the price of your insurance, if an accident does occur, you may end up paying more than you can afford at the time.
Pay Annually
While many companies offer monthly payment deals, these usually work out more expensive than paying a single fixed annual price. Although monthly payments can seem like the more attractive option, especially as a young driver, this is considered a loan and so it can incur interest. If you do not feel an annual payment is possible, you should ask for the exact conditions for the monthly payment. It may also be beneficial to ask for an interest-free period and try and pay off the loan before this period ends.
At the end of the day, you should always go with the company that makes you feel the most secure even if it may mean paying slightly more for the first year. Whether you decide to choose the cheapest option with low coverage, or a more expensive one with higher coverage, know that you can always change at a later time.
