If you would like to save money on your car insurance, we at GSI insurance will do the best we can to help.

We have put together here a few ideas based upon our extensive experience in this sector. We hope you will find them useful.

Before you purchase your vehicle

It is sometimes overlooked that some of the biggest opportunities available to you in terms of being able to save money on your car insurance, actually arise at the time you are selecting your vehicle to begin with!

So:

• check which insurance group the vehicle you are considering is in. Typically, the bigger, more expensive and more powerful a vehicle is, the more it is going to cost you in insurance. The more conservative the vehicle you select, the lower your insurance bills are likely to be;
• try to avoid second-hand vehicles that have been extensively customised. Customisation makes insurance providers uneasy because it means it is difficult (or sometimes impossible) to find a matching vehicle in the appropriate reference guides which are used as the basis of risk assessment;
• vehicles that have been upgraded, in the performance sense, such as some limited-edition marques with unusually powerful, tuned or “boosted” engines, will also push your costs up.

Once you have selected your vehicle or already own it

Here, it may well worth be considering:

• assuming your insurance provider permits it, you could select a higher voluntary excess. The excess is the amount of money you will pay towards the cost of any successful claim and if all other things are equal, the higher your excess is, the lower your premium will typically be;
• avoid trying to include drivers on your policy who have serious motoring convictions on their records;
• similarly, question whether it is necessary to include either very young or very inexperienced riders on the policy. Typically both categories might increase your premium;
• if possible, garage or park your car on your driveway, so that it is off the public road at night;
• make sure your vehicle is equipped with approved security devices and immobilisers plus perhaps trackers. Some insurance policies may offer discounts for these good risk-reduction practices;
• try not to make lots of relatively small claims against your policy. In most circumstances, one of the most significant cost savings available to you is your “no claims discount”. It may just not make any economic sense to put that at risk for relatively small claims;
• consider taking an advanced driver course. Some insurance policies may reward that with discounts – as they might also do if you are a member of a recognised motoring association;
• if your vehicle is older and of relatively modest value, you may wish to question whether or not fully comprehensive cover is still cost-effective;
• ask your car insurance provider if they have any other options or ideas for ways in which you could reduce your premium!

Typically car insurance providers are always happy to highlight ways in which you can bring your costs down and save money on your car insurance. We would welcome your questions on this subject and will be delighted to go into more detail on any of the above if you so require.

Further reading: Guide to car insurance