5 Ways to Save Money on Your Car Insurance
Young drivers motor insurance can be quite expensive. Unfortunately due to statistics you find yourself in one of the most expensive categories of driving insurance; you may be the safest driver in the world, but the boy-racers of the world skew the odds against you.
However, it's not all doom and gloom. Here are some tips that can help you keep the costs of insurance down both now and in the future:
1. Specialist young persons motor insurance: Probably the easiest way of reducing your costs is to find specialist coverage, tailored to reducing the high costs that younger drivers face. Whilst standard insurance packages may not count you as eligible for no-claims bonuses until you've been driving for 3 years (or until you're 21 years old...), young persons car insurance deals often let you start building this up straight away.
2. Ask for higher deductibles: A deductible is the amount of money you pay when you make a claim before the insurance 'kicks in'. Whilst this might sound counter-intuitive, if you ask for higher deductibles, you'll receive lower premiums. Of course this does have one drawback - if you actually have to claim on your insurance, then you'll end up paying more. Make sure you can afford to pay the deductibles in the event that you need to, or this could backfire badly.
3. Buy a ""low-profile"" car: Effectively, don't buy a sports car. If your car is expensive to repair or an attractive target for car thieves, you'll pay for it in your premiums. Older and secondhand cars usually cost less than newer models, though you can also save money depending on the safety rating of your vehicle.
4. Take advantage of low-mileage discounts: Some insurance companies offer discounts to drivers based on a predetermined number of miles driven per-year. By driving fewer miles than this figure, you can benefit from low-mileage discounts. Of course this does limit your freedom slightly, but driving less saves you money in parking, petrol and maintenance costs too. Rather than driving to work, you could carpool with a friend - or if you're just being lazy, walk. You'll have a car for when you need it, and you could save a substantial amount.
5. Don't ""front!"": This isn't so much a tip on how to save money, but a warning on a method you shouldn't try. 'Fronting' is when young car owners name their parents as the main driver of their vehicle - hoping to cut insurance costs and gain benefits from their parent's possible bonuses. However, this is illegal and if discovered, can lead to both your insurance being invalidated. You may even be prosecuted by the Crown Court or your provider.
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