Many younger drivers are finding the cost of driving is too much for them, not just because cars are expensive to buy and maintain, and the price of fuel is slowly rising, but the cost of car insurance is high as well. If you’re under 25 you may have already experienced a coronary while looking for car insurance – for some the cost is in four figures and just puts buying a car out of reach of their pocket.

 

It is an unfortunate truth that a large number of road accidents involve drivers under 25 and as such insurers will charge younger drivers more for a premium, assuming that you are going to be one of those who will be ringing their claims line in the next 12 months. But of course you won’t be, will you?

While age is a factor in calculating car insurance premiums, it’s not the only one. Here are some things you can do to help bring down the cost of your next quote.

Drive a small car

It may sound obvious, but the type of car you drive will of course be a major influence on what an insurance company will charge you. So even if you have the money, stay away from the BMW’s and Jags. Opt for a small hatchback such as a Ford Ka or Hyndai i20. Something with a small engine and a high Euro NCAP safety rating is ideal because it won’t be able to go fast and if you do crash it will help keep you safe, reducing the chance of a bodily injury claim. Plus, it will cost less in petrol.

Get a second driver

Adding a parent to your car cover as a named driver could bring down the cost: insurers may think this reduces the risk associated with your policy, even if the named driver isn’t going to be using the vehicle all that often. Beware, however, of putting this experienced driver down as the main driver in order to reduce premiums further still: if you lie to your insurer about who the main driver is, it might invalidate your policy, which could lead to you driving uninsured. If you are going to be using the car most, you have to say so on your application.

Check your occupation

What you do for a living is a rating factor in calculating your insurance, especially if you want cover for commuting or business use. There may be different occupation descriptions that apply to you, such as writer vs. journalist or builder vs. construction worker. Some insurers will be happy with a generic term such as nurse whereas others will want you to be more specific using midwife, ICU nurse, surgical assistant, or one of many other possibilities. This is why price comparison sites often appear to list occupations several times – the differentinsurance companies need them listed differently.

Opt for a large excess

An insurance excess is the amount of a claim you will pay yourself. So if you have £600 worth of damage to your car which you claim from your insurer, and have a £400 excess, you get £200 back. The bigger an excess you say you will pay, the less your car insurance premium will be.

Pass Plus

The Pass Plus scheme is aimed at new drivers to help them become better drivers. It involves getting you driving in different conditions, such as in towns, different weather conditions, on motorways etc. Many situations that a normal driving lesson cannot cover and you won’t meet until you are driving on your own.

Get a black box recorder

The black box recorder is a device that is fitted to the car and records bits of data about your driving. Using GPS and G-force technologies it can record behaviour such as braking, acceleration, cornering, speed and whether you’re driving at day or night. Good driving is rewarded and bad driving penalised.

The bad news about the recorder is that it is not an option with many insurers but the Co-operative, who do use it, offer a pay-as-you-drive premium which is recalculated every 90 days based on what the black box records. They claim a young driver can save several hundred pounds by using such a device.

And finally…

Drive safe. It may seem obvious but the longer you drive without an incident the quicker the cost of your car insurance will fall. Follow these tips, and hopefully you could be driving your own car and experience the freedom and fun it brings. Good luck!

This article was written on behalf of Rob Powell from Confused.com, the price comparison website.