If you have recently passed your driving test, the cost of insuring a new car could end up being more expensive than the car itself. Of course, you will want to get on the road as quickly as possible after getting your full license, but for many new drivers, the high cost of insurance when just starting out can be off-putting. However, you will be happy to hear that there are certain things that you can do to drive down the cost of insuring your first car to ensure that you are adequately covered without breaking the bank.
Choose Your First Car Carefully
If you’re still looking for your perfect first car, it’s a good idea to consider which cars are the best to insure before you go ahead and take some test drives. Some cars will cost more to insure than others, for example, older cars with bigger engines. Generally speaking, a car with a smaller engine and lots of safety features is the best choice for a new driver since these tend to get the best prices on insurance policies. However, opting for a car that is statistically involved in a lot of collisions might not do much to help your premium, so it’s worth researching different cars before you buy.
Add a Named Driver
Adding a more experienced named driver to your policy can help you drive down the cost of your car insurance. And, as an added bonus, it will also mean that it’s perfectly legal for the friend or relative that you add to your policy to borrow your car and be covered by your insurance policy. Many new drivers will add a parent, grandparent, or older sibling onto their policy since it is not only a good way to drive the price down, but it also makes car-sharing much easier.
Consider a Black Box
Most new drivers don’t like the idea of having a device in the car that tracks their driving, but it can be a small price to pay for significantly reduced insurance premiums. And, having a telematics device in your car can be an ideal way to improve your driving skills as a new driver with many insurance companies offering breakdowns of your driving trends and tips on how to improve them and become a safer driver overall. The safer you drive with a telematics device in the car, the more you’ll save on your car insurance.
Use a Dashcam
Having a dashcam fitted in your car is very handy since it allows you to record everything that happens around you. If you are involved in a collision, the dashcam will pick up footage that you can then send to your insurance company to prove fault of the other party. It can also be really useful to have if you are the victim of a hit-and-run as the dashcam might be able to capture the other car’s registration number or other details that you may find difficult to notice and remember on your own. Because of this, many insurance companies will offer drivers who use a dashcam a discount on their insurance.
Although you’re probably excited to drive as much as possible after passing your driving test, trying to keep your mileage down is the best way to ensure that you are not paying any more than you need to for car insurance. The less you drive, the cheaper your car insurance quotes are likely to be due to the reduced risk of you being involved in a collision on the road. If you can still get to places on foot or by bicycle, it’s definitely worth doing since this is not only cheaper for you in terms of petrol and insurance, but much healthier and kinder to the planet compared to driving short journeys too. You can use Quotezone to find out more about how much you could be paying for car insurance if you drive less. Just enter details about yourself, your car, and the yearly miles you drive into the website and you’ll get a range of car insurance quotes from different companies to compare.
Shop Around
Finally, take some time to shop around to find the cheapest car insurance policy for you. The sooner you begin looking for car insurance, the easier it will be for you to find a price that works for you. Bear in mind that in some cases, you can get different quotes throughout the day based on the time that you are searching or the site that you use. To get the best results, use a wide range of different comparison sites along with going directly to get quotes from insurers to get a clear picture of the range of prices available to you and compare your options.
After passing your driving test, insuring your first car can be one of the biggest expenses you’ll face on the road. Keep these tips in mind to drive down the cost of insuring your first car.
All products featured on Gemma Etc. are PR samples or gifted items, unless otherwise indicated. This post may contain affiliate links. If you wish to find out more, please see my Disclaimer within my navigation bar.