How can you insure a car cheaply, but still with top quality benefits? You may find the very best car insurance bargain you are looking for, by comparing up to 120 insurance policies, from top UK insurers!
Why should I look for my insurance here?
- Over 100 insurers invited to quote.
- We have a Google Review Rating of 4.7/5 and we are rated 'Great' on Trustpilot.
- We don't spend a fortune on expensive advertising - money that would otherwise come out of YOUR pocket eventually.
- The search engine is completely independent; unlike many major search engines it is not owned by an insurance company. This means that you can get completely unbiased results, increasing your chances of finding the best bargains.
- When you do a price comparison, not only large insurers are invited to offer you quotations but also lots of specialist companies. Depending on their own specialities, these may offer extremely reasonable prices to groups such as, for instance, young drivers; mature, experienced ones; female motorists; sports or SUV owners; or even people in high risk postcodes or occupations. So regardless of your requirements we may help you find much lower priced quotes, or better benefits.
- We are members of the prestigious British Insurance Brokers Association and we are listed on the Financial Conduct Authority's website (reference number 765239) and you can find our FCA listing here. This means that you can have confidence that you will be treated fairly and honestly, and you will have big guns to complain to in the (extremely unlikely!) event of something going wrong with your policy.
- Over three million people have already been helped to find low cost quotes by this search engine!!
How to compare up to 120 policies!
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Which car insurance company guarantees the cheapest UK insurance?
None of them can guarantee to offer the most inexpensive premiums to everyone. This is because insurers all calculate them based on many factors: not least of all your address, age and driving experience. They all interpret these in different ways.
Some, for example, prefer to deal with customers with a good, long driving record and so they may offer them very attractive quotes. Conversely they might not be keen on younger or more accident prone customers, and so their premiums for 17 to 25 year olds can be more expensive than average.
Other companies, however, may take the opposite view. This is why to get the most competitive quotes when doing a price comparison it is usually best to compare multiple quotes from many insurers and you could save a lot of money on a very low cost policy.
How do I, personally, get the lowest cost insurance?
Most motorists pay too high a premium, whether they are young drivers, learners, or quite experienced ones, but there are ways of saving a lot of money without buying substandard cover.
Comparing prices from the market's leading insurers isn't enough; to get the best bargains here are a few more things you can do, to get even lower quotes:
- Start comparing quotations online, a month before you need a policy, and order it well in advance.
- If you are young or inexperienced persuade a more experienced, safe driver to join you on the policy as a second driver.
- Experiment with your job title; for example a fashion photographer may pay a lot more than someone just described as a photographer; a bricklayer may pay more than a builder; the cost for a care assistant may be less than for a trainee nurse. Make certain that you can justify it though!
- Consider the optional extras that may be included with your policy. Do you really need them? Ask the insurer for a discount if you remove them.
- Be wary of 3rd party or 3rd party fire and theft policies. Third party cover rarely offers good value for money.
- Make sure you're on the voter's list.
- Pay the full premium upfront in the normal way. It can cost a lot less.
- Consider a black box policy, particularly if you are a young driver, your vehicle is in a high insurance group, or you have penalty points or a bad claims record. Think about the drawbacks, too though.
- Don't insure your car for too much! In the event of a car accident insurers will only pay at most the market value of the vehicle, and even this will be reduced by your excess.
- Always check your insurance policy documents to make sure you have the right level of cover, and look for any potential extras, before handing over your money
- Steer clear of modified cars. They can not only increase repair costs but affect the car's handling too, putting you at more risk of a road traffic accident.
- If you want to pay monthly get quotes for payment in full first. You may have a shock.
- If you have a provisional licence, consider a short term learner drivers policy rather commit yourself to an expensive annual one.
- Make sure you fill in proposal forms accurately. Insurers know more about us than we think they do. An error could lead to increased premiums, or even your being refused car insurance completely!
Where in the UK is the most economical car insurance?
The lowest cost*
Dundee
Edinburgh
Exeter
Hereford
Inverness
Oxford
Perth
Sterling
Swansea
Truro
Winchester
The next lowest*
Cambridge
Carlisle
Chichester
Lancaster
Lincoln
Litchfield
Plymouth
Salisbury
Worcester
Portsmouth
York
The mid-range*
Bristol
Canterbury
Chelmsford
Durham
Gloucester
Newport
Norwich
Portsmouth
St Albans
Southampton
Wakefield
The more expensive*
Chester
Coventry
Derby
Glasgow
Hull
Leeds
Leicester
Newcastle
Peterborough
Sunderland
Wolverhampton
The very dearest (sorry!)*
Bradford
Liverpool
London
Manchester
Nottingham
Preston
Salford
Stoke on Trent
Sheffield
* Opinions vary, but these seem to be the generally accepted figures. However do bear in mind that premiums for individual postcodes within these town and cities can vary greatly.
Why does where I live affect my insurance premiums so much?
Insurers still use statistical systems to work out the risk of you being involved in a claim.
Some postcodes have far more, or more expensive, claim figures than others because of accidents, vandalism, theft or fraud. These regions have correspondingly higher than average premiums.
The worst affected areas are London (particularly West and East London), Manchester, and Bradford in Yorkshire.
On the other hand Scotland, the Scottish borders, North Eastern England, Cornwall, Exeter, Devon and Somerset have lower rates of claims than average and so drivers in these regions enjoy lower premiums than those in most other parts of the country, provided that all other factors such as age, driving experience, type of car etc are the same.
You can hardly move away from London, Manchester or Birmingham just to find a better price for insurance but you can compare quotes to find your own lowest cost policy.
There are more ways of saving money on your insurance below!
Little Known Facts About The Best Bargains In Motor Insurance
Most people pay too much for their insurance. Here are a list of factors which might reduce your premium considerably.
Could I save money by buying my insurance in advance?
Research that we carried out indicated that many motorists who are looking for a lowcost policy might save money by buying their next one well in advance - up to a month ahead is possible with most insurance companies and although everyone's circumstances are different we found a saving avaraging around £60 for our test group. Your own experiences may of course be entitely different from this! There are two reasons why insurers may offer better discounts:
1) People who buy policies in good time are generally well organised people, and statistically this group is less likely to be involved in accidents, and claims; and
2) Motorists in a rush to get cover in place at the last minute have less time to shop around and so are more likely to accept a high price rather than spend more time looking for a better quotation.
Can I trust UK price comparison sites to find me the lowest priced insurance for my car?
Price comparison services the UK are firmly regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority so they are obliged to act honestly and fairly. However when you buy a policy your contract is with the insurer, not the comparison site. Accidents can happen and before you buy a policy make sure that you really are getting the benefits that you thought you were paying for. The insurer you choose will send you all the policy documents and you should check it carefully.
Also; mass producing quotations means that a comparison site may make various assumpions about you; if these prove to be incorrect it is quite possible for an insurer to demand a higher premium, so don't always assume that the price you are quoted will be the one you pay.
Bear in mind, too, that nearly all of them will only display results from companies that pay them a commission. Most of the big sites are owned partly or wholly by insurance companies so the temptation to push their own products must be high!
Why should my inclusion on the voters list affect insurance quotes?
When insurers calculate a premium the trust factor is extremely important to them. They want to be confident that you are who you say you are, that your answers on the proposal form are 100% accurate, that you can be relied on to drive carefully. Rightly or wrongly some of them are suspicious of applicants who are not included on the local voter's list, particularly if a 'pay monthly' policy is applied for.
The insurance proposal form asks for my driving licence details. Should I provide them?
It is possible for insurers to find out a great deal about your driving history from your licence number so a willingness to provide it is a good trust signal which may result in better quotes.
Is it sometimes better to buy short term insurance?
Do you really need to drive all the time? Short term insurance costs more on a day to day basis but it can be more economical if you only need cover for a short whilst. You can get quotes for between one and 28 days cover from www.carinsurancefor1day.co.uk.
Why should adding a more experienced driver to my policy reduce my premium?
Insurers like to see experienced drivers with a good accident free record driving your vehicle as well as you. However do bear in mind that this driver should genuinely drive it from time to time; and you must have that person's permission to be included on the policy.
If your named driver has a fault accident whilst driving your car it is your no claims discount that would be lost, and the named driver would have to report the accident when applying for insurance in the future. So, you could both get increased premiums.
Does my exact job description matter?
When you compare quotes, your job description can be defined in several different ways. Many consumers could find a lower priced policy by tweaking terms that match their occupations to see which ones provide the most economical prices.
If you are, say, a builder, you might also be a plasterer, a bricklayer, a drain layer, and a roofer - or all of them at the same time. When you fill in the quote form these occupations may bring up different quotes and some of them may cost substantially less than others.
Make sure that you are being accurate though. You may well have to confirm this sometime in the future, and insurers do know more about us all than we realise. If you have already told one insurer that you was a chef and another that you worked as a nurse it may raise some eyebrows.
Should I search for comprehensive vehicle insurance prices first, even if I want third party insurance?
Some insurers are wary of people who ask for 3rd party only insurance quotes, and it's sometimes more expensive than comprehensive cover anyway, despite the difference in benefits. When you compare quotations, get comprehensive ones first.
Do modifications affect a motor insurance quote?
Insurers do not like modifications. Modern cars are carefully designed to be as safe as possible for the occupants and other road users and non standard modifications have been known to have a bad effect on handling and braking, particularly if different engines or suspension systems have been fitted. Even fitting allow wheels, to replace steel ones, can affect a car's carefully calculated balance.
Also, rightly or wrongly, the companies wonder whether a customer who makes those modifications is suffiently interested in avoiding accidents in it, rather than squeezing the last bit of performance from it.
If you do have a modified vehicle you may be better going for quotes to a broker who specialises in them.
Why should I consider a multi car policy?
A number of insurers do offer good discounts to people who insure several cars at the same address. However these companies may still not offer as good a deal as you could get elsewhere so don't be swayed by the size of the discount. Get more quotes and you may save even more.
Will fitting a dash cam lower my premium?
It might - it's up to individual insurers. However it can be very useful in the event of a disputed claim if you have actual footage of what happened. Given the prevalence of cash for crash scams this can be extremely important.
Does offering a higher voluntary excess lower quotes?
Remember though that if you have an accident that you're at fault for you will have to pay this, in addition to any compulsory one, so use this tactic carefully.
Is a 'black box' policy worth buying?
For many young or inexperienced drivers a black box; often known as telematic; policy is the most economical option and they are believed to have been responsible for reducing accidents by providing more incentive for careful driving. Be aware though that a driver who is recorded as breaking some of the criteria, such as exceeding speed limits or braking and cornering harshly, can be heavily penalised.
You may also have additional expenses and inconvenience if you find lower prices, and switch insurers, since the old tracker will have to be removed and a new one installed.
Make sure you check online reviews of a company that offers you a policy of this kind. Some of them have allegedly had teething problems with false infractions recorded and these can have disastrous consequences, particularly if they result in cover being withdrawn.
Could I save money on insurance by buying a newer car?
A lot of young drivers in particular start off on older and lower priced cars but these often attract higher premiums. Modern vehicles can be packed with safety features such as automatic braking control, collision sensors, crumple zones and many others that reduce the risk of accidents and mitigate the effects if they do occur. As a result these cars earn lower insurance rates. If you are concerned about how safe your motorcar (or one you want to buy) is, a good place to start is Thatcham Research, which carries out testing on different models and gives them all an insurance rating. The lower the rating, the less you can expect to pay.
Do I need to be concerned about hidden extras in my policy?
Insurers cannot hide extras. By law they have to be explained clearly and the information has to be easy to find. Some smaller providers charge a lot of money for cancellation fees, or just changing your address your job description in their records. People who complain about this usually get nowhere with the Insurance Ombudsman if they were provided with this information - but who didn't read it. And most people don't, so make sure you look through the policy details that have to be provided to you before you hand over your money.
Should I buy the very cheapest insurance policy?
We usually get what we pay for. If you are offered a very low price by a company you have not heard of at least do a search for reviews of them; you may find that they cut their prices to the bone but offer a poor service or large admin fees in return.
One day you may need to ask your insurer what to do if you are involved in an accident or how to make a claim against your policy. Some insurers are better than others at answering queries promptly, producing claims forms and paying up easily, with the least fuss. Before you actually buy that cheapo policy it may be a good idea to type the name of firm offering it into your favourite search engine and see what other people say about them.
Also: motor insurance scams are rare but they do happen. Be wary of advertisements on social media offering crazy low prices; if it looks too good to be true, it probably is! A common fraud is to impersonate a genuine insurance company or broker and the unsuspecting motorists only find out about it when they are pulled over by the police who tell them that they are driving whilst uninsured; or when they try make a claim on their policies but find that the company they bought it from has disappeared. Never deal with a company that operates out of a mobile phone number; asks you to pay by any method other than by credit card; or which rings or emails you out of the blue to offer really reduced prices.
Can I pay monthly for car insurance?
If spreading the cost of your policy over a year suits your budget best then many insurers do offer instalment plans for motorists in which you borrow the premium from either the insurer or a finance company then repay it over anything up to a year. These are invariably more expensive though, particularly if credit checks show that the applicant has a poor credit score.
Some of the best, well established insurers with reasonable premiums will only accept lump sum payments so you could be missing out on the biggest bargains. When you compare quotes, always get prices for paying the full premium in advance, as well as with extended payments, and see what you might save by paying upfront.
Click here for more information on paying monthly with low deposits.
How do I check that an insurer is genuine?
If you have any doubts do an online check with the Financial Conduct Authority or any relevant trade association that the company is genuine, and operates from the same address that it is registered at. For instance We are members of the prestigious British Insurance Brokers Association (our membership number is 007759) and we are introducer appointed representatives registered with the Financial Conduct Authority number 765239 (you can check that on the FCA website) . Sometimes a seemingly bargain priced policy can be TOO cheap so be wary of very inexpensive quotes.
Do I have to accept the optional extras that are included with a new policy?
Many quotes on comparison sites include extras such as legal representation, windscreen cover, breakdown cover, personal accident cover or a free courtesy car in the event of an accident. If you really want these then, fine, but you can always ring the insurers and ask for a discount if they are removed; some will, some will not but it is worth a try and may save you money. Also, insurance provider sales staff can offer price reductions to tempt you to buy these or other extras but remember that when your next renewal quote arrives you may be charged full price for them. In this way, that bargain priced policy can become an expensive one extremely quickly.
Can I haggle over a renewal premium?
Insurers want you to stay with them. After they have spent money on expensive advertising they do not want you to leave them for another company so they try to lock you into automatic renewals. If you refuse to let them do this you will be free to haggle, and quite often just ringing your current insurer's contact centre, and telling the customer service staff that you intend to compare prices, can result in a substantial reduction in your premium. If they will not give you a discount (and most will) then it is time to shop around.
Should I pay extra for a protected no claims discount?
To push up the price of an otherwise seemingly cut-price policy many insurers offer a guaranteed no-claims bonus in the event of a claim. Most people think that if they pay for this, and then they do have an accident, their premiums will not increase. They are wrong.
A no-claims bonus is a percentage that is taken off the basic premium. If that NCB is protected then it will still stay the same; an existing 35% reduction is stll 35%, 60% off is still 60%. However the basic premium is going to increase substantially. In other words, rather than the total premium staying the same after your little bump, it will still increase, possibly by an awful lot. Do not fall for it.
Do I have to tell my insurer about every little bump I have?
Strictly speaking, you should tell them about every little accident. This is true even if there was no damage caused, even if you paid for it yourself, even if another driver admitted liability and paid for any damage to your car. The reason is: the insurer is concerned with the likelihood of you having an accident in the future. If you have had a minor collision but paid for the damage yourself, then (in the eyes of the insurers) you are still more likely to have more mishaps. What they do not know about, they cannot worry about, but it is usually a condition of every policy that you are completely upfront about every crash, minor or otherwise, that you have been involved in. So, again, you should let them know. Will you? It is up to you.
Are price comparison sites best for car insurance?
Most vehicle insurers and brokers have special bargain offers from time to time, and sometimes these are quite generous. The problem is that there is no way of telling when they will be available. This is a good reason to compare prices, because you could get quotes from a very large number of insurers which should include their latest offers.
However, how impartial are they? Remember that most larger comparison sites are owned by insurers who have their own products to promote. Are their results really impartial? Do they necessarily show the best price available? Remember that none of them compare policies from every single car insurance company in Britain, and many (most) only display offers from those that pay them a commission. Someone, after all, has to pay for those lavish TV adverts. So, sometimes you will get a better price from a small broker (if you can find one) particularly if you have had a number of accidents or convictions, you have medical issues to take into account, you drive a rare or valuable car, or you differ from the normal motorist in any other way.
