When you are young and just starting out, money is likely to be tight enough as it is, without having to find the hefty extras that come with owning and running a car. The heftiest of those, of course, is almost certain to be the young driver insurance you need to keep it on the road – the typically high cost of premiums may be enough to deter all but the most determined.
To lend weight to your determination, therefore, here are a handful of tips about what you might do to save some of your money:
- Cheap car insurance
- in your quest for saving money, you are certain to come across innumerable offers of cheap car insurance;
- beware offers sounding too good to be true – they are usually just that , simply not true to their word – and remember that cheap does not always mean what you are likely to be looking for;
- buying cheap, for example, might tempt you always to go for basic third part cover, whereas more generous levels of third party, fire and theft and even fully comprehensive insurance may actually represent the better buy;
- Go to the experts
- with a little expert help and guidance, you may be able to make some important distinctions – sorting out those insurers who charge such high premiums that it is clear they really do not want to cover young drivers and those insurers who clearly welcome the business;
- here at GSI Insurance, we make it our special business to find those niches in the market where young driver insurance is welcomed rather than shunned – with realistically priced premiums to vouch for the fact;
- Additional named driver
- it’s your car and your insurance, so on no account try to get a parent to pretend that they are the main driver in order to cut the cost of your premiums – this is called “fronting”, it is illegal and it amounts to the kind of insurance fraud likely to result in any cover you arranged becoming immediately null and void;
- adding the name of a more mature, experienced driver to your own cover, on the other hand, is likely to result in a perfectly safe and acceptable way of reducing the premiums on your own policy;
- Keep it simple and unpimped
- the website Driving Test Success Tips makes the valuable point that by keeping your choice of car relatively straight forward, simple, and cheap you are also likely to keep insurance premiums within reasonable bounds;
- the same goes for any desire you might have to modify the car, put bigger wheels on it, lower the ride or do anything else to pimp its appearance or performance – if you want to get cheaper motor insurance, simply avoid the temptation;
- increase the excess
- as a young driver, you may typically find that there is already quite a high compulsory excess on any insurance you arrange;
- a sure fire way of reducing the cost of premiums, however, is to agree to a further voluntary excess – which is also likely to add strength to your determination to avoid accidents and consequent claims to show your insurer that despite your young age you are indeed a safe insurance bet.
No magic wand is likely to find you ever so cheap insurance if you are a young driver, but by following some or all of these tips you are more likely to ensure that you make it cheaper.
Further reading is available here with our Young Driver Insurance Guide.