Car Insurance - How Can You Lower Your Premiums?

Many factors influence the premium for your Motor insurance policy. Your insurer will have asked you many questions whilst producing your quote - some of which will affect your premium and some will not. Below we discuss the key variables that are within the policyholder's control.

By insuring a number of vehicles with the same insurer, or by trying to take out home and life insurance through your car insurer, you may be able to secure a ‘bulk buy’ discount.

A big influence on the cost of your car insurance is where you live. The chance of your car being broken into or stolen is a key concern for the insurer. More urban areas traditionally facing greater risk of theft and therefore tend to be more expensive than countryside locations.

By agreeing to pay a greater excess on each claim you can reduce your car insurance premiums. This is because you are reducing the liability of the insurer and therefore in return they are able to offer you a lower premium.

The cheaper and slower your vehicle the lower your premiums are likely to be. If you are looking to buy a new vehicle make sure you fully consider the cost of insurance – you may be able to buy the car but can you afford to run it?

You can control your insurance premiums by restricting your annual mileage. However, be aware that if you exceed the restricted number of miles you'll then become uninsured!

Where you park your vehicle overnight is also very important to the insurers. If it is kept in a locked garage, you should be offered a lower premium than if you leave it unattended in the street.

Security devices that prevent or hinder theft may also reduce your premium. Common examples include alarms and immobilisers, however, be aware that as we improve the quality of our security devices the thieves just become better at bypassing them.

Save up your no claims discount by avoiding making small claims upon your policy. After a set number of years, 4 or 5 typically, you'll often be offered the option to pay an additional small premium to protect your no claims bonus. This can prove very helpful if you subsequently end up having an accident.

By taking an advanced driving course you may also be able to reduce your premiums. The Institute for Advanced Motorists and the Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents each offer membership which provides you with discounts for both the cost of driving courses and your car insurance premiums. Two key variables NOT within the policyholder's control.

Women are statistically less likely to have an accident and, if they do, it's less likely to be serious. Because of these statistics women benefit from lower premiums. It is also worth noting that if you represent one half of a couple you should consider having the female as the primary driver with the male as the second driver.

The older you are, the less likely you are to make a claim. As a result insurance companies charge lower premiums for more mature drivers.

A large percentage of car insurance is now sold on the Internet. That's because it's convenient and cheap. Many insurers now give a further 10%-15% discount if you buy online.

Last Car News

True "sport" utility

BMWs in general are wonderful cars to drive, with impressive power and great handling which doesn't compromise the smooth ride. This 650i Convertible that I'm driving is no exception to that. Its got 360 horsepower, a 6-speed manual transmission and big grippy tires. And surprisingly, given the latest BMW designs, this car actually looks good.

The convertible top works very well, can even be operated at low speeds. The rear window powers up or down so it can be lowered with the top in place for nice ventilation, or left up when the top is down to act as an air deflector. At high speeds, with all the windows up, the wind barely rustles your hair.

So what's not to like? In a word, its I-Drive. I-Drive is BMW's system of using a single knob to access all of the standard driver controls, including ventilation, navigation, audio system, etc... I-Drive turns the ultimate driving machine into the ultimate annoyance.

It took me two days to figure out how to adjust the base on the stereo, and its at least three menus into the system. Changing stations is just as difficult, although I think there is a way to change them via steering wheel controls.

Everytime I got into the car, I would set it to "Sport" mode (tightens the suspension, improves steering response), I would turn off the stability control, set the navigation screen and trip computer screen the way I want them, and if it was raining, I would turn on the automatic wipers. After shutting the car off and returning later, I would have to do all of this over again. Extremely frustrating.

There is no reason I can see for this complicated way of accomplishing simple tasks like adjusting audio controls except for the fact that they had the technology to set it up this way. Technology for technology's sake is not useful.

The 650 I was driving runs about $85,000. As much as I love driving this car, the annoying I-Drive would make me look for an alternative.

--Perry Stern

BMW 6-Series - Annoying German Engineering

The FJ Cruiser is Toyota’s all-new retro-styled off-roader. I’ve had the opportunity in the past to take the FJ off-road, and found it to be extremely capable. However, this was my first chance to see how it takes on day to day driving.

The bold styling of the new FJ Cruiser is a big attention getter. Available in a number of bright colors, my tester was painted Voodoo Blue. It seems that everything about this vehicle is big: it’s got big tires, large grille, oversized mirrors trimmed with running lights (carry over from the original concept) – even the door handles are super sized. And one-upping all of the competition, the FJ Cruiser has three front windshield wipers, where all others just have two.

This big theme carries over to the interior, where knobs were designed to be operable while wearing gloves. Unfortunately, the back seat is not as large as everything else. Rear seat passengers are a bit cramped, and given the small rear windows, it’s also somewhat claustrophobic back there. Access to the rear seat is easy with rear-hinged access doors unless you’re parked in a narrow parking spot, in which case it’s almost impossible to access the rear seat. Cargo space is plentiful, and rear seats can be folded flat to extend the space.

The FJ Cruiser has plenty of power from its 239-hp V6, and it rides rather smooth on the pavement. Handling is not bad for a big SUV, however it is not terribly maneuverable in parking lots. The FJ needs almost 42 feet to turn around compared to a Hummer H3 that can make the same maneuver in five fewer feet. Visibility is also an issue – there is not much window between the back door and the rear of the vehicle. A very large blind spot.

Overall, Toyota has built the FJ Cruiser with the purpose of handling severe off-roading. And while a higher percentage of FJs will leave the pavement (intentionally) than most other SUVs, it’s still likely that most will never leave the road.

--Perry Stern