There is simply no way around it – if you are going to use a car on the road or other public space, even just to park it there – you are going to need a minimum level of car insurance cover. The law says so.

You might be under a legal obligation to buy car insurance cover, but that does not mean you have to go for the most expensive. Here are some of our top tips on cutting the cost:

• shop around: it might sound like a statement of the obvious, but it may prove trickier than ever in the increasingly competitive and diversified motor insurance market – consider the benefits of getting experienced experts, such as those of us here at GSI Insurance, in doing the shopping around on your behalf;

• although the general rule is to avoid paying for cover you do not need, the barest level of protection – just third party, for example – may not prove the cheapest to buy;

• an average, medium performance, low insurance group car is going to cost less in replacement parts and repairs – so insurers are typically able to charge lower premiums;

• the government sponsored Money Advice Service is just one voice among many in recommending that you do everything reasonably possible to improve security of your vehicle – whether this be the fitting of immobilisation devices or intruder alarms, to simply ensuring that the car is parked off-road – to gain your insurer’s approval and a reduction in premiums;

• a further, classic way of assuming greater responsibility for the risks to which your car is exposed is to agree to take on a greater amount of excess – the higher the amount of excess you accept, the less there is for the insurer to pay and, so, the lower your premiums;

• a detail pointed out by the Citizens’ Advice Bureau refers to the small print in some motor policies whereby you agree to automatic renewal each year and the penalty of a cancellation fee if you want to end the cover, to switch to another insurer for example, after that renewal. To avoid such an expense, it repays to check exactly what you are agreeing to from the outset;

• having made sure that you are able to switch to any other insurer at the end of the year if you so choose, penalty-free, remember that by paying the annual premium in a single payment is typically cheaper than paying by monthly instalments where an additional admin fee may be applied by some insurers;

• if you are perhaps finding driving less of a pleasure than it might once have been, or if you simply do not need to use your car so often, limiting the annual mileage which you quote to your insurer may earn a reduction in the cost of premiums;

• one of the greatest ways to impress your insurer that you represent a low risk, and might therefore save money on your insurance, is to ensure that you not only drive safely, but avoid the need for any claim on your cover – thus protecting what is likely to be a valuable no claims discount.

You may stay on the right side of the law by ensuring that you have the car insurance you need, yet whilst saving money at the same time.