Save hundreds on your car insurance with these seven simple – and completely legal hacks.

Securing value-for-money car insurance can be a challenge, especially for young drivers, and, even if you manage it one year, you may have a shock at renewal time if your premium has rocketed.

Luckily, with these seven saving tricks from Matt Oliver of GoCompare Car Insurance you could potentially save hundreds, meaning less money for your insurer and more money for you

1. Save £88* – By using the right job title

Your occupation is one of the major pieces of information that insurers use to work out your insurance premium. Ultimately, some occupations are viewed more ‘risky’ than others which means, unfortunately, if you are a professional footballer, you’ll likely be shelling out more for your cover than a priest.

That said, in some cases there may be more than one job title on a pre-defined list, that accurately describes what you do, and in this case you could make some significant savings

For example, if you describe yourself as a ‘chef’ your average quote could be as much as £88* higher than if you selected ‘kitchen staff’. Other jobs that tend to have a lot of similar options include office work, building and construction, teaching and journalism.

 However, it’s important to always make sure you're honest when giving your details to an insurer if you knowingly misrepresent yourself that could invalidate your cover.

It’s not just those in full-time work that this applies to , for instance,  if you’re a full-time parent, retired or a full-time student make absolutely sure you’re selecting those titles and not ‘unemployed’ – it could save you almost £300**.

*Based on a 31 year old male, living in Reading, driving a Vauxhall Corsa, altering chef to kitchen worker.

** Based on a 31 year old male, living in Reading, driving a Vauxhall Corsa, altering unemployed to full-time student.

2. Save £520* – By adding a more experienced driver to your policy

Inexperienced and young drivers typically face the highest premiums– but could save significant money by adding more experienced drivers to their policy.

GoCompare found that drivers could save nearly/up to £520* by adding a more experienced driver, such as a parent, to their policy. While new or younger drivers are likely to see the biggest savings, his also applies to more experienced drivers, even if you’re deemed a low risk driver yourself.

This is simply due to the additional drivers, in most circumstances, making the overall risk slightly lower, as you won’t be the only one driving the car.

What people must still be aware of though is the issue of ‘fronting’, where younger or less experienced drivers claim to be the ‘named’ – additional driver, when they’re actually the sole or main user of the vehicle. In this instance, using a more experienced driver to bring the cost down is illegal, so it’s worth people bearing this in mind when taking out a policy.

*Based on an 18 year old, living in North London, driving a Vauxhall Corsa, before and after adding a parent with a clean license on as a named driver to their policy.

 3. Save £76* – By planning ahead if you buy in advance

While people rarely look forward to buying insurance, showing some enthusiasm and getting it done as early as possible, could save you more than you might think.

 On average, car insurance is around 12%, or £76*, cheaper if bought a week before its start date, so getting it out of the way and not leaving it to the last minute can really pay off.

*According to data from GoCompare, average savings of £76 can be made if car insurance is taken out a week before the start date.

4. Save £120* – By paying annually

Paying monthly can be convenient and an affordable option for many people, but in the long term it's almost always more expensive than paying for your insurance up front in one lump sum, and paying annually could save you around £120*.

The savings to be made by paying in one go can be so significant that, if you can't afford it, it's worth considering other options such as paying on a 0% credit card - just make sure you can pay off the balance on the card before the interest-free period ends, otherwise you could have a hefty bill stacking up.

*Based on a 31 year old, living in Newport, driving a Vauxhall Corsa, paying monthly compared to paying annually.

5. Save £140* – By ditching the extras

As with any packaged product, it’s tempting to go all out on adding extras to feel like you’ve got a better level of cover.  Consider if you really need the added extras you're buying, that they're suitable for your requirements and you don't already have sufficient cover from another source. Typical car insurance add-ons include legal assistance, courtesy car cover, personal accident cover, windscreen cover and protected no claims bonus, so find out more about these areas before buying something you may not need.

*Based on Insure your motor policy, adding breakdown cover, personal accident cover, windscreen cover and a courtesy car.

6.  Save £280* - When you shop around

The only way to make sure you’re securing the best deal you can on your car insurance, Is to shop around and compare quotes from lots of different providers.

Shopping around can also be a really easy way of saving a significant amount of money, in just a few minutes, especially when it comes to renewal.

On average people could save up to £280* by shopping around with GoCompare Car Insurance.

* According to independent research from Consumer Intelligence in September 2017, 51% of customers could save up to £279.42 with GoCompare Car Insurance

7. Save £370* – With a black box

Car insurance premiums for young drivers can be incredibly expensive, and can act as a barrier to new motorists getting on the road. This is because, insurance companies say that statistically, younger drivers are more likely to have an accident or make a claim, and as insurance is based on risk, new motorists tend to get tarred with the same brush.

However, telematics or ‘black box’ insurance allows you to have your insurance premium based on your actual driving, which means if you can prove you’re a good driver, you could save hundreds of pounds compared to a traditional policy.

These policies work by having a black box, or smart phone app connected to your car, which monitors your driving and reports back to your insurer. Good driving can be rewarded with reduced premiums, where as poor driving will usually result in more expensive premiums at renewals.

GoCompare found that opting for a telematics policy could save a 17 year old driver as much as £370* a year.

That said, telematics policies tend to be geared towards young, low mileage drivers and can come with exclusions and restrictions, which means it’s important to check the policy is right for you before opting for one.

*Based on an 18 year old female, living in Bristol, driving a Vauxhall Corsa, where the cheapest telematics policy based on behaviour and mileage is £2,850 and the cheapest standard policy is £3,200.  

Matt Oliver from GoCompare Car Insurance said; “While the amount people could save from each of these car insurance hacks will vary based on their circumstances, people should know that it can really pay to get engaged when it comes to their insurance, and by tackling it head on, especially at renewal, you could end up hundreds of pounds better off, which means more money for you and less money for your insurer.”

-Ends-

For further information please contact:

Anders Nilsson/Martyn John/Louisa Marsden at GoCompare on 01633 654 054 / 01633 654 725 / 01633 655132

Gordon, Jason or Liz at MAW Communications on 01603 505 845

Keep up-to-date with GoCompare on Twitter: @GoCompare

About GoCompare

GoCompare is a comparison website that enables people to compare the costs and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products and energy tariffs.

GoCompare does not charge people to use its services, and it does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. GoCompare makes its money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on its various comparison services when a customer buys through the site.

GoCompare does not sell its customers’ data.

When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping people to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. GoCompare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest, and has teamed up with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional policy information into a number of its insurance comparison services. This allows people to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.

GoCompare is the only comparison website to be invited to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

For more information visit www.gocompare.com and www.gocomparegroup.com