Cheaper car insurance: 20 top tips on how to reduce your policy price from an expert

Cheaper car insurance: 20 top tips on how to reduce your policy price from an expert

With car insurance and other household expenses on the rise, Brits are looking for ways to cut bills and make every penny count.

We’ve got the inside scoop on the best ways to reduce your car insurance premiums this year – straight from the experts themselves. Flexible car insurance provider, Cuvva shares 20 ways you can reduce the cost of car insurance with steps you can put in place immediately.

Cuvva’s Darryl Bowman explains: “There is no need to pay more than you have to for your car insurance.

“Cuvva is on a mission to make insurance flexible, fair, and most importantly, we want to make sure it’s affordable. Through the Cuvva app you can get temporary cover whenever you want to drive someone’s car, meaning you only pay for the time you’re actually behind the wheel.

“Drivers can access cars easily when they need to get around, while saving on all the costs that come with owning a car. Some customers have saved thousands of pounds annually by borrowing a mate’s car instead of owning one of their own.”

According to Cuvva, drivers can save money by making these following changes to their policy:

Shop around, even mid-policy (but be wary of cancellation fees)
Insurers are now banned from hiking the cost of your car insurance at renewal compared to the price given to new customers. Don’t wait until renewal time to find a better price and switch, but watch out for cancellation fees if you switch mid-term.

Make sure you’re on the electoral register before you get quotes
Lots of insurers use the electoral register to check their potential customers’ identities. If they can’t find you on the electoral roll, they might make your quote higher – or they might not cover you at all.

Buy your car insurance about 23 days before you want it to start
Research has shown quotes are at their cheapest around 23 days before your chosen start date. This might be because insurers see those who leave shopping for insurance until the last minute as less organised and therefore riskier to insure.

Look into multi-car policies if you’re insuring more than one car
If you have more than one car in your household or in your immediate family, it might be cheaper to insure them with a multi-car policy. The main benefit of doing this is that it can be cheaper.

Look into multi-insurance policies (like home insurance plus car insurance)
Some insurers offer cheaper rates when you buy more than one insurance product with them. For example, your car insurance and home insurance.

Tweak your job title on your insurance forms (but don’t lie)
Your job title is one factor that can affect how much your car insurance costs. Statistics show people with certain jobs are more likely to have an accident than others. For example, you could say you are a ‘caterer’ instead of a ‘cook’.

Be aware of any interest on monthly payments
Most insurers charge interest if you choose to pay monthly instead of annually. So you end up paying more overall than if you pay for your car insurance in one lump sum. If you prefer to pay for your insurance in one go, find an insurance provider that doesn’t charge any interest to pay monthly.

Sell your car and share instead
Many infrequent drivers choose to sell their car and borrow somebody else’s instead. With temporary car insurance options, it’s easier than ever to borrow a friend or family member’s car without the costs that come with owning one. Fewer cars on the road is kinder on the environment, too.

Make sure you know about different insurance companies’ extra charges
Hidden insurance charges are easy to miss, but they can add £100s to the cost of your car insurance. Some companies charge you to change your personal details, like your address, for example. It’s worth looking into insurers’ hidden fees before you sign up to a policy.

Make your voluntary excess bigger
The higher you make your voluntary excess, the cheaper your insurance premium will be. However, that does mean you have to fork out for the higher excess amount if you need to make a claim.

Build up a no claims bonus
Building up a no claims bonus is one way to get cheaper car insurance. The longer you go without making a claim, the more no claims discount you’ll get.

Remove stuff you don’t need from your car insurance policy
There might be add-ons on your insurance policy that you don’t need, like courtesy car cover, breakdown cover, car key cover – this list goes on! To make sure you’re not overpaying, check your policy details carefully, and take off anything you don’t actually need.

Look into buying add-ons as separate products
Some car insurance add-ons might be cheaper to buy separately. For example, it might be cheaper to get breakdown cover with a different company than to include it in your car insurance policy.

Look into adding another (responsible) driver onto your policy
Sometimes adding another named driver to your car insurance policy can make it cheaper.

Adding a responsible driver to your policy (like someone older, with a healthy claims record), might lower your premium.

Get a less ‘risky’ car
Cars with small engines are much cheaper to insure than cars with big engines because they’re seen as less risky by insurers. If you’re struggling to afford your car insurance, it might be worth downsizing or getting a cheaper car.

Consider taking a driving course
Taking an extra driving course could get you cheaper car insurance. They cost money though, so you’d need to make sure the price of the course doesn’t outweigh the savings you’d make.

Limit your mileage
When you buy car insurance the company will normally ask you to tell them roughly how many miles you drive a year. Insurance is normally cheaper the less you drive but it’s important to be honest. But you might want to think about cutting down your usage so you can get cheaper insurance.

Look into telematics policies
A telematics policy (also called a black box policy) monitors how you drive and prices you fairly against your actual driving. The better your driving is, the cheaper your insurance.

Look into dash-cam insurance
Dash-cam insurance is where you have a camera attached to the front interior of your car. It’s worth looking into because some insurers offer a discount which ranges between about 10-15%.

Try negotiating with your current insurer
Once you’ve checked quotes across a few different comparison sites, try haggling with your current insurer. If you’ve found a cheaper quote somewhere else, they might match it or go even lower.

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Typically thought of as being an easy to clean area of the home, hard floors have risen in popularity in recent decades. Globally, hard floors are the most common floor type,2 and research released today by Dyson has uncovered poor cleaning habits that mean hard floors are likely to be harbouring an array of hidden nasties. This comes as 32% of Brits – equating to 21.6 million people in the UK – will use the same dirty mop head for six months or more before replacing it. What’s more, one in 20 also admit to keeping the same mop for a year or longer, and one in 10 think it is acceptable to use the same mop 100 times, spreading dirt around their floors every time they use it. Cross contamination is a primary issue for most common and traditional mopping methods with germs and bacteria further being unknowingly spread around homes as Brits use dirty water to clean floors.3 45% only change the water to new water between rooms, whereas 41% wait even longer until it looks dirty. This could mean that floors are being washed with dirty water, adding more dirt rather than taking it away. Surprisingly, almost one in 10 (9%) even admit to not changing the dirty water at all when mopping. Over a quarter (28%) admit to mopping their floors once a fortnight or less while over half (53%) admit they don’t regularly clean behind appliances and leave dirt to build up for as long as six months at a time. image002.jpg On how to achieve a perfect barefoot clean feel after mopping, Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert offers their top tips for eliminating dirt around the home: 1. Create a cleaning schedule to stay on top of dirt build-up. In the last year, there has been a 15% global reduction in the number of people who maintain regular cleaning schedules. 47% of the British public admitted to only being motivated to clean when they spot visible dirt or dust.4 Regular floor cleaning with a wet hard floor cleaner like the Dyson WashG1™ removes more stubborn dirt than vacuuming alone. It is important to have a debris free surface, clear any clutter from the floor or other surfaces. Choose the right machine: Different vacuums are designed for different floor types and home sizes. Some machines will be engineered with hard floors in mind and will struggle on thick pile carpets, for example. Choosing the right machine for your home will make a big difference to the ease and speed with which you’re able to clean your home. Clean your floors ‘little and often’. Washing your floors frequently in areas that receive more foot fall will help to stop dirt building up and getting trodden into your floor. Using a dedicated wet floor cleaner on hard flooring such as the Dyson WashG1 is helpful for this, as the versatile format means it vacuums and washes the floor simultaneously. Cleaning schedules have also become less regimented. In recent years only 41% of people claim to have a regular cleaning schedule, and 60% admit to cleaning reactively; being motivated to clean only when there is visible dirt or dust5. It’s perhaps not surprising, that a fifth of people are still concerned their floors are dirty after they’ve mopped them (22%) and one in four6 feel extremely worried about indoor dust at home. Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert reveals why it is important to change the way we mop: “Cleaning your hard floors properly and regularly is important for maintaining a healthy environment around your home. Without a proper cleaning routine, dirt may unknowingly build up and spread around your home. It is evident from our research that current mopping habits mean British households aren’t cleaning their floors as effectively as they should. “From ignoring problem areas where dust and debris build up, cross contamination with dirty water to not replacing mop heads or inconsistent cleaning, current mopping behaviours may be making floors dirtier as opposed to cleaner. Moving away from traditional methods, wet floor cleaners like the Dyson WashG1 simplify the floor cleaning experience and provide a modern efficient and hygienic solution” To help take the guesswork out of mopping, the brand new WashG1 is Dyson’s first dedicated wet floor cleaner that tackles wet and dry debris in one go. Engineered for hygienic cleaning and maintenance, the WashG1 is revolutionising wet floor cleaning, removing the need for multi-products and multi-steps to achieve a barefoot clean feel around the home. To put the product to the test, Dyson have cleaned one of London’s most iconic landmarks The Victoria and Albert Museum. From cleaning the grand marble floors housing the most prestigious exhibits, to cleaning up leftover food in the Gamble Room Cafe, the WashG1 had a dirt busting tour of the museum leaving it spotless. Images can be found here. The WashG1 introduces Dyson’s engineering expertise to cleaning hard floors. With a 1 litre clean-water tank to cover flooring up to 290m2, the Dyson WashG1 uses a combination of hydration, absorption, and extraction technologies to remove wet and dry spills and stains simultaneously. The Dyson WashG1 is available to purchase now from Dyson.co.uk, retailing at £599.99.

Typically thought of as being an easy to clean area of the home, hard floors have risen in popularity in recent decades. Globally, hard floors are the most common floor type,2 and research released today by Dyson has uncovered poor cleaning habits that mean hard floors are likely to be harbouring an array of hidden nasties. This comes as 32% of Brits – equating to 21.6 million people in the UK – will use the same dirty mop head for six months or more before replacing it. What’s more, one in 20 also admit to keeping the same mop for a year or longer, and one in 10 think it is acceptable to use the same mop 100 times, spreading dirt around their floors every time they use it. Cross contamination is a primary issue for most common and traditional mopping methods with germs and bacteria further being unknowingly spread around homes as Brits use dirty water to clean floors.3 45% only change the water to new water between rooms, whereas 41% wait even longer until it looks dirty. This could mean that floors are being washed with dirty water, adding more dirt rather than taking it away. Surprisingly, almost one in 10 (9%) even admit to not changing the dirty water at all when mopping. Over a quarter (28%) admit to mopping their floors once a fortnight or less while over half (53%) admit they don’t regularly clean behind appliances and leave dirt to build up for as long as six months at a time. image002.jpg On how to achieve a perfect barefoot clean feel after mopping, Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert offers their top tips for eliminating dirt around the home: 1. Create a cleaning schedule to stay on top of dirt build-up. In the last year, there has been a 15% global reduction in the number of people who maintain regular cleaning schedules. 47% of the British public admitted to only being motivated to clean when they spot visible dirt or dust.4 Regular floor cleaning with a wet hard floor cleaner like the Dyson WashG1™ removes more stubborn dirt than vacuuming alone. It is important to have a debris free surface, clear any clutter from the floor or other surfaces. Choose the right machine: Different vacuums are designed for different floor types and home sizes. Some machines will be engineered with hard floors in mind and will struggle on thick pile carpets, for example. Choosing the right machine for your home will make a big difference to the ease and speed with which you’re able to clean your home. Clean your floors ‘little and often’. Washing your floors frequently in areas that receive more foot fall will help to stop dirt building up and getting trodden into your floor. Using a dedicated wet floor cleaner on hard flooring such as the Dyson WashG1 is helpful for this, as the versatile format means it vacuums and washes the floor simultaneously. Cleaning schedules have also become less regimented. In recent years only 41% of people claim to have a regular cleaning schedule, and 60% admit to cleaning reactively; being motivated to clean only when there is visible dirt or dust5. It’s perhaps not surprising, that a fifth of people are still concerned their floors are dirty after they’ve mopped them (22%) and one in four6 feel extremely worried about indoor dust at home. Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert reveals why it is important to change the way we mop: “Cleaning your hard floors properly and regularly is important for maintaining a healthy environment around your home. Without a proper cleaning routine, dirt may unknowingly build up and spread around your home. It is evident from our research that current mopping habits mean British households aren’t cleaning their floors as effectively as they should. “From ignoring problem areas where dust and debris build up, cross contamination with dirty water to not replacing mop heads or inconsistent cleaning, current mopping behaviours may be making floors dirtier as opposed to cleaner. Moving away from traditional methods, wet floor cleaners like the Dyson WashG1 simplify the floor cleaning experience and provide a modern efficient and hygienic solution” To help take the guesswork out of mopping, the brand new WashG1 is Dyson’s first dedicated wet floor cleaner that tackles wet and dry debris in one go. Engineered for hygienic cleaning and maintenance, the WashG1 is revolutionising wet floor cleaning, removing the need for multi-products and multi-steps to achieve a barefoot clean feel around the home. To put the product to the test, Dyson have cleaned one of London’s most iconic landmarks The Victoria and Albert Museum. From cleaning the grand marble floors housing the most prestigious exhibits, to cleaning up leftover food in the Gamble Room Cafe, the WashG1 had a dirt busting tour of the museum leaving it spotless. Images can be found here. The WashG1 introduces Dyson’s engineering expertise to cleaning hard floors. With a 1 litre clean-water tank to cover flooring up to 290m2, the Dyson WashG1 uses a combination of hydration, absorption, and extraction technologies to remove wet and dry spills and stains simultaneously. The Dyson WashG1 is available to purchase now from Dyson.co.uk, retailing at £599.99.

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