A MARTIN Lewis fan has revealed how they cut a key household bill by hundreds of pounds thanks to a simple trick – here’s how you can too.
It comes as car insurance costs are on the rise and some insurers have upped the average premium by 20%, according to MoneySavingExpert.com.
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The Martin Lewis fan said: “My renewal jumped to £840. Using your tool I renewed with another company for £464 – cheaper than last year.
“Winner. I checked 3 weeks before renewal, as the tool advised.
“Spot on. This dropped the price further. Great job guys, £376 saved.”
In February, the Association of British Insurers, the trade body for insurers, said the average price paid for motor insurance rose by 8% in the fourth quarter of 2022.
It added the average premium paid for a private motor was £470.
But if you’re worried about sky-high premiums, there are some tips you can use to save costs.
Never auto-renew
It can be easy to forget about your car insurance and let it roll over to the next year.
But you could save yourself hundreds of pounds by not auto-renewing and seeing what other deals there are on the market.
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Martin Lewis’ MSE has a useful tool you can use to compare car insurance premiums.
Or you can use a comparison website like Go Compare or Moneysupermarket.
If you do find a cheaper premium on the web, you can always take the figure to your current insurer to justify why you think you should pay less moving forwards.
You don’t have to wait until your contract ends
Some car insurance policies are taken out for 12 months at a time and you pay for them upfront.
But you don’t have to wait until it ends to switch to another one.
If you do find another premium for less than what you currently have, you can just cancel it, given you haven’t had to make a claim since taking it out.
If you did pay for the premium upfront you should be able to get a refund for what’s left on the contract.
Bear in mind though you may have to pay an admin fee to cancel early.
One other drawback is that you won’t earn a year’s no-claim bonus, but if it means making big savings it might just be worth it.
Time your switch
Even the timing of when you switch insurance premiums has an impact on what you pay.
Research from Compare The Market has suggested insurance policies are £319 cheaper if drivers switch three weeks before their renewal date compared with switching on the day a policy ends.
Switching a policy on the day it ends costs on average £776, compared with £457 if you move three weeks before.
Pay annually
You can pay for your insurance in one lump sum upfront or spread the cost monthly.
But while paying monthly might be easier to budget, you could end up paying more in total across the whole year.
So if you’ve got the money to hand, it might be worth forking out for the whole year.
Other tips to slash the cost of car insurance
There are other ways to cut the costs of your car insurance beyond not following the tips above.
If you’ve got a speedy sports car, swapping it out for a lower-powered one will see your premium price drop too.
That’s because your vehicle’s engine size is one of the factors insurers use to work out the cost of your premium.
Insurers reward safe drivers – so building up your no claims discount will see your premium price drop too.
Meanwhile, black box or telematics insurance policies can help you slash costs further, given you’re a competent driver.
They work by measuring things like your speed, distance travelled, the time of day you drive and add up to give you a score.
If you achieve a good driving score your insurer may offer you a reduced premium.
In addition, simple tricks like parking your car in the garage, if you have one, can slash car insurance costs too, as insurers will see the vehicle as being in a safer location.
