We all know how complex and confusing insurance can be. With an average car insurance cost of £995 per year, it’s an expensive business, too.
In this article, we’ll offer advice and tips for cheaper car insurance, with a focus on how temporary car insurance could help reduce costs in three different scenarios…
1. Swap your auto renewal for cheaper temp car insurance
When it’s time to renew your annual policy, keep an eye out for an auto-renewal. It’s always worth shopping around to find a policy that suits your needs and situation and bear in mind that there are no additional charges incurred for stopping cover once your annual policy expires.
This is where cheap short-term insurance offers real value. Provided the vehicle is taxed, you can take out temporary car insurance from Tempcover for a time period ranging from one hour to 28 days.
This gives you the chance to research the annual policy most suited to your needs while being legally insured to drive and live your day-to-day life. Confused.com’s research shows the best time to purchase an annual policy is around 18-21 days before renewal date.
2. How to reduce car insurance when buying a new vehicle
While getting a new set of wheels is exciting, it can also be stressful when it comes to finding cover. One way of giving yourself more time to find a policy that suits your needs is to get short-term cover when buying the vehicle.
Some dealers may provide temp cover as standard when you pick up the car, but not all provide this. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the excitement of signing ownership papers and then be hit with the reality you’re not insured to drive the car.
In this situation, most people opt to contact their annual insurance provider to get cover on the spot, missing out on the opportunity to research the best deal. This flexible and comprehensive cover also won’t affect your No Claims Discount.
If you choose to Tempcover your new vehicle, you can drive the car home immediately. This will give you the time to research the best annual policy for your needs. You can get a quote for temporary car insurance in under 2 minutes by following these simple steps:
Tempcover IT!
- Visit www.tempcover.com
- Fill in your details
- Get your quote
- Purchase your policy
3. Are you insured to drive another car?
Whether you’re sharing the drive on a long journey, borrowing a car from a friend or family member or lending yours to them, you need to make sure the driver has the relevant cover.
Most annual insurance policies are restrictive when it comes to covering additional drivers or vehicles, meaning the onus is increasingly being put on drivers to find and interpret the wording on their certificate of motor insurance before driving another car.
Your policy documents will have info on if you are covered to drive other vehicles but it’s unlikely to be the case, as the Driving Other Cars (DOC) provision has been quietly phased out in recent years.
If you were to drive a friend or family member’s car and ended up having an accident (or vice versa), you and the vehicle owner could be left with a huge repair bill for the car – and you’d potentially lose your No Claims Discount. You can add the named drivers to your vehicle policy, but this could prove both time-consuming and costly depending on the insurance provider.
This is where temporary car insurance can add real value and help you save money. You’ll be able to get fully comprehensive cover and choose exactly how long you need it for in a matter of minutes. You can even choose when you want the cover to start.
Lowering the costs of car insurance
Although there’s no getting away from the fact you will have to spend out on your car insurance, there are a number of ways of reducing the costs. You could get a smaller or less powerful vehicle (Auto Express’s list of the cheapest cars to insure in the UK highlights the Hyundai i10 and Volkswagen up!), add another named driver, choose comprehensive rather than third party cover or pay for your annual policy upfront to help reduce the costs.
Temporary car insurance can cover you in the short term. This would give you the chance to find the best annual policy to suit your needs.
Sources and links:
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/jan/16/average-car-insurance-cost-uk-prices-rise-inflation
https://www.tempcover.com/front-cover/insurance/driving-someone-elses-car-the-options
https://www.confused.com/car-insurance/guides/tips-for-cheaper-car-insurance
