Dash cams, excess and simply driving less: how discounts affect your car insurance premiums

There are many things you can do to cut your car insurance premiums, but how much do they actually save you?

There are endless guides and tips out there promising you cheaper premiums, but do you know how much you could actually save by doing them?

We asked car insurance broker Adrian Flux to crunch the numbers and give us practical examples of how we could save by making a few of the more commonly-recommended changes.

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Who's driving and what car do they have?

When it comes to car insurance, it’s the details that matter. For the purposes of this illustration, the car we've selected is a five-door Ford Focus hatchback and the driver is a 55-year-old male with no major driving convictions.

Adrian Flux quoted us £295.31 with an excess of £150. Let’s see if we can slash that price.

Increase your voluntary excess – save £45.60 (15.4%)

Generally speaking, the higher your excess, the lower your premiums. This is a good move if you’re a careful driver who hasn’t had to make any major claims.

In this instance we’ve increased our excess by £200 to £350. Doing so has saved us a cool £45.60.

Make sure you can afford the excess before you increase it, as even the most careful driver can have an accident.

Drive less – save £62.58 (21.1%)

It’s logical – those who drive less are less likely to get into an accident and make an insurance claim. If you limit your driving to the daytime and to less dangerous areas, this will sit well with your insurer too.

For an annual mileage limit of 7,500 miles, we've been given a 21% discount on our original quote, which is none too shabby.

Get advanced driving qualifications – save £73.24 (24.8%)

IAM membership is open to any drivers who pass the IAM advanced test or have another advanced qualification like a Police Advanced Driving Certificate.

There is a catch though: the Advanced Driver Course costs £149 so it’ll probably take just over two years to make the cost of the course back with the money saved. If you’re looking to cut your premiums long-term, it’s worth thinking about.

For something a little cheaper, Pass Plus courses cost around £180 (it’ll vary between instructors) and it could save you money on your car insurance. Again, it’ll depend on your insurer. Some local councils even offer discounts on courses.

Get a dash cam – save £17.72 (6%)

Crash for cash scams have made an impact on the motoring insurance industry, costing over £390 million a year, so it’s definitely worth shelling out for a dash cam. They can cost anywhere from £40-£200 so there's no excuse for not having one!

And many of us have already bought one – sales are up 800% year-on-year, according to Halfords. Before you rush out; your insurer might only offer discounts if you have a specific dash cam model, so it's best to check in advance.

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How the premiums look now

Let’s recap what these actions have done to the premium on our Ford Focus:

Hopefully this will give you an idea of how much you could save with different cost-cutting methods. 

Of course there's a caveat: although you could apply multiple discounts to some policies, there are only so many measures you can take as insurers will have a minimum premium limit to keep to, which varies between insurers.

But as you can see, even making a small change could make a huge difference to your premium.

A few other things you could do

Of course, cutting your car insurance isn’t limited to these four options. There are so many other things you could do!

Install a black box

Telematics (black box) devices have soared in popularity over the past few years, especially for younger drivers. Your driving will either be monitored by a black box or a phone app and if you drive carefully, it could bring your car insurance costs down significantly.

Avoid a standing order

Though it might be tempting to spread the cost with a monthly standing order, you’ll ultimately end up paying more for your premiums through processing and admin fees. It’ll sting at the time, but paying more upfront is definitely the way to go.

Haggle!

Honestly, this goes for any type of insurance.

About a month before your renewal date, start shopping around- it could take a bit of time but it’ll definitely pay off.

Begin with price comparison websites (why not try loveMONEY?), and remember to have a look at Direct Line and Aviva who don’t appear on comparison tables. Find the cheapest quotes you can and take them to your current provider. Check that the coverage on these new policies is as good as your existing deal as your current insurer could one-up you when you try and haggle the price down.

Be firm, but polite and don’t break any awkward silences- you’ll be fine!

Read more top tips in: How to haggle like a pro.

Get cashback

Unbeknownst to some, you can get cashback on financial products as well as general goods and services. The likes of Topcashback and Quidco could give you up to £60 in cashback on certain car insurance policies.

Check out even money-saving tricks in: Ways to cut your car insurance.

What you need to consider

Although there are a number of ways that you can save on your premiums, different methods may not be compatible on the same policy. You could be eligible (or ineligible) for different discounts based on your age, experience, postcode and any previous convictions you’ve had.

Gerry Bucke, general manager of Adrian Flux, explains further:

“The reason is that, for example, the insurer who provides the cheapest black box policy may not be the one who provides a discount for fitting a dashcam, and vice versa.

“Similarly, if the driver is 17 they'll benefit more from a black box policy than a 40-year-old would, and the compulsory excess would also be higher for a younger driver than an older driver”.

And as mentioned before, you probably won't be able to take all of these measures because of your insurer's minimum premium limit. Unfortunately you can't get a policy for peanuts!

Thanks to Adrian Flux and Matt Ware for their help with this article.

Find cheaper car insurance by searching with the loveMONEY car insurance comparison centre today.

More essential motoring info:

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