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Car Insurance costs fluctuate daily and with new brokers and insurers offering different products all the time, there is every reason to get a quote to see if you can lower your costs. Just because your current insurer was cheapest last year, doesn't always mean they will be this year and your broker may not have access to all the market, that's where we come in. Using TheComparisonExpert.com, you can search the market and find the best deal available, we are not an insurer or broker, so we are not biased in any way to the offers we can help you find. This comparison service will help you find some of the best prices in the market – saving you time and money.
How to Save £s on Car Insurance
In 3 simple steps, taking less than 2 minutes, you can search a wide range of some of the most trusted providers in the UK. You can also tailor the policy to ensure it covers you for what you need.
Tell us about you
Enter your personal information, name, address, occupation, etc – this tells the market who you are and where you live.
Provide your requirements
What are you looking to cover, the vehicle, who will drive it and how far will you drive. You can also select the level of cover – Comprehensive or Third Party, Fire and Theft? Do you want Protected No Claims Bonus or not?
Choose the right policy
Review the results and tailor your cover – once the market has quoted your policy, you can amend cover to your own needs. Higher or lower excess? Legal Cover? Breakdown? This can all be amended before selecting your desired policy.
Why must I get car insurance?
If you want to drive in the UK, you must get insurance. If you drive without insurance, you can get your car impounded, points on your licence and a large fine. You may also get your licence revoked. So, yes. You must have car insurance to drive legally!
ANPR or Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras on police cars and road gantries check number plates against a database and can automatically issue fines to anyone caught without insurance.
You don't need to get comprehensive cover, but the legal requirement is a minimum of Third-party cover, this covers your liability against any third party (this could be other vehicles, any passengers, other road users or property).
Depending on your circumstances you may wish to increase you cover to include Theft or Fire Cover, then Comprehensive includes damage to your own car too.
You can also include optional covers to include Breakdown or Legal Expenses cover.
You could be fined even if you don't drive on the roads! Yes that's right, if you don't have insurance you could receive a fine even if your car isn't used. If you don't plan on using your car, you must register your car SORN (Statutory Off Road Notice) with the DVLA. If you're not driving your car, you can avoid insuring it and paying road tax.
What levels of car insurance are there?
As mentioned above there are a few options when it comes to insurance, these are:
'Third-Party Only' Car Insurance (TPO)
The most basic level of car insurance. This only covers you for any injury or damage compensation you may be liable for in the event of an accident. However any damage to your car, any injuries you suffer or if your car is stolen or suffers fire damage is not covered.
'Third-Party, Fire and Theft' Car Insurance (TPFT)
In addition to what is provided under TPO cover, this will also cover your own losses if your vehicle is stolen or suffers fire damage. You are still not covered for any accidental damage or injuries you might suffer.
'Fully Comprehensive' Car Insurance (COMP)
A further extension of the cover above, this level now includes cover for accidental damage, vandalism and windscreen damage. Most insurers will include an element of personal possessions cover and personal accident cover.
Be sure to check all levels of cover as often insurance companies do not offer TPFT or TPO cover so you may find COMP is actually the most competitive and gives you most cover.
Specialist Covers?
Whilst the levels of cover are wither TPO, TPFT or COMP there are many specialist policies which offer benefits to a specific group of people or vehicle type. These will still come in the same thee levels of cover but include special terms or additional coverage bespoke to the needs of that group of people.
Some examples of these:
- Multi-car - This is a policy that covers two or more cars in your household, some even cover cars and homes on the same policy offering a discount for insuring all with the same provider.
- Over 50s - There are a number of specialist brands and products providing tailored car insuance for the over 50s.
- Electric & EV - As electric cars become increasingly common on UK roads a number of specialist electric car insuance products and brands have entered the market, in addition to most mainstream insurers providing cover for electric vehicles.
- Telematics/Black Box - This is a device installed into your car which monitors your driving. This data is sent back to the insurer affecting the premium you pay. Telematics policies are particularly common for younger drivers.
- Learner - If you are a learner then you can either be added to the owners policy of the vehicle you are learning to drive in, or you can take out a temporary learners policy that doesn't impact on the vehicle owners policy.
- Taxi - This is a form of Hire and Reward where the taxi driver will require a specific policy that covers them for their taxi work. They may also require a separate public liability policy covering their passengers.
- Temporary - In cases where you may borrow a car or only need to have the vehicle on the road for a short time, a Temporary Car Insurance policy will give you flexibility to only get cover for the time you need.
- Classic - Designed for car enthusiasts who own a classic car but do not use it every day. These cars are often more valuable but driven only a few thousand miles a year. So insurers create bespoke limited mileage policies for individuals who own classics.
How much does car insurance cost?
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) maintain a 'Motor Insurance Premium Tracker' which shows that between April and June 2022 the average price paid by motorists was £419. Thier data shows this is an increase of £5 over the previous 3 months.
As everyone and their cars are different insurance is made up of many factors, these each will have a rating applied to it. If the factor is good (less likely to claim) it will reduce your premium, if the factor is seen as a negative (more likely to claim) it will increase your costs.
Some of these factors you cannot do much about, such as your age or how long you’ve been driving, but others you can influence to try and reduce your costs.
Factors that affect car insurance costs
- Mileage - May seem common sense, but the more you drive the more likely you are to be in an accident. Could you use your car less and reduce mileage?
- Occupation - Some occupations are deemed higher risk than others, if you are a doorman or security guard, this may be more risky than an accountant or shop worker.
- Car - This is one of the biggest factors you can influence, the type and size of your car, its performance and the cost of the car very much dictates how much you will pay. A brand new, expensive, high powered car is much more expensive to insure than a 10 year old lower powered model.
- Address - Your car spends a lot of time parked at home, meaning you'll probably pay more if you're in a high crime or flood risk area.
- Claims - If you've claimed before, this may have affected your no-claims discount and the amount you pay.
- Motoring Convictions - The amount of points and type of endorsements is reflective of the insurance risk, so if you have points on your licence, you are likely to pay more than those who have clean licences.
- Usage - Like the taxi driver needing Hire and Reward cover, those who commute to work need the right cover. If you don't commute in your car you could get lower premiums by choosing just social, domestic and pleasure (SDP)? If you travel for work, adding business use could increase your premiums also.
Reducing risk to reduce your quote
Insurance cost is essentially the insurance companies perceived risk of how likely you are to claim, so in order to reduce your price, this is simply done by reducing your risk.
You have to be honest and truthful when obtaining quotes, so you cannot change your age or remove claims/convictions from the quote. There are some legitimate ways to reduce your risk, these include:
- Upgrade security, adding an approved alarm or Tracker
- Park your vehicle off road or in a garage.
- Choose a lower performance or lower value car
- Reduce the number of miles you drive if possible
- If you are young, consider taking an advanced driving course
- Adding an older, more experienced named driver can sometimes reduce the price too, maybe look to add a parent or older sibling.
Lower the amount you pay
Insurance brokers and insurers will often charge interest on instalments, often far more than other credit facilities. If you can afford to pay in full then this is normally cheaper. If you cannot pay in full, work out the cost of the instalments and check other credit facilities to see which is best for you.
Excess, this is the proportion of any claim that you are required to pay, so is only paid in the event of a claim. Often the higher the excess you choose the lower the premiums, but be careful you don't select an excess you may not be able to afford.
Consider what cover you need or don't need. Some products may include covers (and charge you for) and you may not want them. Others will exclude cover you want and then charge extra. So if you want Legal Cover and Breakdown Cover, check to see if a product already includes these before choosing a cheaper option then adding these covers at additional cost. You may find some savings this way.
Optional Extras – Do I need them on my car insurance policy?
Optional extras are covers that you can add or remove to tailor the insurance to your requirements. Some you may assume are included so make sure when selecting your provider you are getting exactly what you want and need.
Some options might include:
- Legal Expenses - Cover does vary but generally includes motor prosecution defence costs and legal costs to recover uninsured losses in event of a non fault claim.
- Breakdown Cover - Options range from Roadside Assistance only, to full European cover. You can sometimes save by buying Breakdown Cover separately, check out our Breakdown Cover deals to see if you can make a saving buying cover separately.
- Key Cover - Some insurers exclude key cover in their core motor insurance policy, but make it available for an extra cost.
- No Claims Bonus Protection - You are often charged around 10% to protect your no claims bonus, meaning it won't be reduced in the event of a claim.
- Driving Abroad - Some insurers include cover, others do not and charge if you drive abroad. If you need cover for driving abroad make sure you factor this in when comparing quotes.
- Windscreen Repair & Replacement - Normally included in Comprehensive policies, but on Third Party policies this cover can often be added.
- Courtesy Car - Some insurers wont guarantee a courtesy car for all claims, make sure you check your chosen policy and consider adding extra cover if access to a car in the event of a claim is important to you.
Check my car insurance quotes
By offering a comparison service we can assist in comparing over 100 prices from a range of brokers and insurers. You can see what is covered, the cost to add extras on and easily swap between levels of cover.
Make sure you have all the information available as you will need to accurately input your information to get the best price.
With the cost of living rising all the time, do not be tempted to change your information to obtain lower prices. This may invalidate your policy and provide no insurance cover if you need to make a claim. If you have lied on your insurance application insurers can refuse to settle claims, leaving you severely out of pocket. You could also be prosecuted for driving without a valid insurance policy.
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