Cutting insurance costs

Cutting insurance costs

ACTING on a few simple tips could help young drivers steer clear of big increases in car insurance costs.

As younger motorists face rocketing premiums, now is the time to make use of 'dodges' to bring prices down by as much as up to 30 per cent, claims broker Adrian Flux Insurance Services.

'There are many ways to cut premiums and all of them are legal. Drivers just have to be a bit canny,' says spokesman Gary Bucke.

New drivers who follow up the standard driving test with the Pass Plus training are often rewarded with discounts up to 30 per cent and drivers of all ages rank for reduced premiums if they pass advanced driving courses.

'Join a club - members of car owners' clubs can get discounts of up to 15% on car insurance via their club and there's an owners' club for just about every car from a Trabant to a Micra or even a Ferrari," adds Mr Bucke.

'Increase the amount of any claim that the policyholder pays before the insurance company starts to contribute. Typically the excess will be £100 to £250, but it's possible to get much higher excesses to reduce the cost of the insurance.

'And limited mileage schemes give discounts based on the number of miles the policy holder doesn't drive. The fewer miles the driver does, the bigger the discount and these days brokers offer limited mileage schemes for as much as 10,000 miles per year. Typically a limit of 5,000 miles results in a discount of around 20 per cent.'

The final tip is to ring around. It pays to get more than one quote, and to speak to insurance providers to get a better deal. Specialist brokers are able to advise on how to get a better deal, especially if the car or driver is 'non standard' - for example, for high performance cars and grey imports, or where drivers have a high risk job, live in a high risk area or have points on their license.

Mr Bucke continued: "Brokers also check a variety of different insurers to see who gives the best price. Searching online can be very effective, but beware of web quotes that seem too good to be true - check they are comparing like for like.'