Car insurance prices have soared in recent months with many motorists likely struggling to keep their vehicles on the road.
Data from Confused.com has revealed premiums have increased by a staggering 58 percent over the past 12 months.
Average costs now stand at an eye-watering £995 per annum, an increase of £366 since last year.
This is up from just £565 back in 2020 and just £529 in 2021 putting into perspective how far costs have jumped.
However, experts from across the motoring industry have highlighted simple ways road users can make major savings on car insurance day.
1. Shop for new deals
Nationwide Vehicle Contracts has urged road users to always look around at what different providers have to offer.
A good deal last year may not be one now so shopping around for a better price on comparison sites could prove fruitful.
They explained: “It may seem like a simple and easy way to renew your insurance, but auto-renewal isn’t often the best deal for you.
“Despite laws changing in 2022, which means insurers can no longer hike up your price after the year is over, this doesn’t always get you the best price. So shop around and see what deals you can get.”
2. Get a new policy as early as possible
Last year, Martin Lewis revealed timing is everything when it came to saving money on car insurance deals.
Speaking on ITV’s Martin Lewis Money Show, he commented: “If you are near your renewal, getting quotes three weeks before may halve the costs. We ran 18 million quotes, I’ve updated this a few times over the years, to see exactly how the prices change.
“This isn’t about renewal quotes. This is about going to get new quiets to see if the price is cheaper in the run-up to your renewal date. It starts to drop at around four days, you get into the sweet spot around three to four weeks before. It bottoms out at exactly 23 days and the price starts to rise.”
3. Boost security or install a dash cam
Installing a range of extra security devices such as immobilisers, steering locks and dash cams is also likely to go down well with insurers. Not only does it make policyholders look responsible but the vehicle also becomes less of a target for thieves.
Bryn Brooker, spokesperson for Nextbase said: “Dash cams show you are a responsible driver who cares about evidence. Our research shows you a dash cam can save you up to 30 percent on your insurance premium.
“But that pales in comparison to the potential savings if you are involved in an incident and your dash cam footage proves that you are innocent – that could save you thousands in retained no-claims bonuses alone.”
4. Allow insurance firms to monitor your driving
Black box decides are popular among younger drivers as they can slash hundreds of pounds from annual bills. These devices usually plug into a car’s cigarette lighter and monitor exactly how road users drive their cars.
Monthly driving reports are provided with better motorists rewarded with major discounts.
Graham Conway, Managing Director at Select Car Leasing said: “These policies allow you to minimise costs by monitoring driving behaviour from a small device discreetly installed in the car, rewarding ‘good’ driving with cheaper insurance.
“Be wary of who else is driving the car, as their bad habits could affect the score you are given, which is updated every seven days and dictates the cost of your policy. Equally, any bad driving on your part will cost you.”
5. Change your job title
Motorists can invalidate their car insurance policy if an applicant is found to be misleading.
However, experts at ATS Euromaster suggest that playing around with the wording of your occupation could make all the difference.
They wrote: “Job titles can be tweaked as long as they still accurately describe what you do. By adjusting a job title from ‘sales assistant’ to ‘sales executive’, this will reduce insurance by £63, and tweaking to ‘sales support’ can save £127.”
