I've just saved over £160 on my car insurance - here's how I did it

If there's one thing we can rely on in life, it's the simple fact that car insurance will always go up. I've had more horrifying renewal quotes in my time, but the recent one I was given for my Mitsubishi Outlander was, predictably, a bit of a shocker. Last year I paid the not inconsiderable sum of £508 with Aviva and this year my renewal is set to cost £528.

47. It's not a catastrophic increase, I grant you, but it's still a lot of money, and I was convinced I could beat it down somewhat, so I put my thinking cap on. As a consumer writer, I'd recently stumbled on the comparison site Switcheroo , which is saving people the best part of £400 on their energy bills.



I happened to notice they also have a car insurance comparison site, so I figured I should give it a go, and see if I could transpose that sort of saving on to my motoring policy. It might not be as well-known as the big players like Confused.com or GoCompare , but apparently 97% of its customers would recommend it , while only 96% of Confused.

com's customers would recommend their service. Sounds like it's worth a bash, then. The process to get a quote is remarkably similar to the other comparison sites.

It's a nice, simple, clean interface, and it takes just a few minutes to fill in all your details, hit the accept button, and wait for it to pester over 110 providers for a price. Surprisingly quickly, I was given a list of 69 quotes. The most expensive quote was for £1,394.

28 from a company called "Zugar Znap", so I won't be darkening their doorstep, but there were some much happier prices at the top of the list. Cheapest of the lot was Policy Expert, who were happy to underwrite my motoring adventures for just £365.50 per year.

To remind you, Aviva wanted £528.47. To be fair, I could probably convince Aviva to bring their price down a bit, but I'm not sure they'd scrub over £160 off.

And the excess was slightly cheaper with Policy Expert. There's no legal cover offered from Policy Expert, which would add £29.99 to my price, but I've got a dashcam and I might risk it.

I'd also not get any breakdown cover, but I'm with the RAC so that's fine. And I'd have to pay £34.99 for a courtesy car, but I already have too many cars, so I don't need that.

It's a pretty basic policy , then, but significantly cheaper. And even if I was to go for a more comprehensive policy, there are four other companies offering to insure me with nearly all the trimmings for less than £400. Quite the no-brainer, I guess.

I genuinely didn't expect to be paying less than £400 for my car insurance this year. I wasn't surprised to see my renewal quote higher than last year, but to be able to bring it down, at a time when I could do with saving a few quid, is such a joy. Try it yourself, see what you could save by clicking here to do a quick comparison.

This is so important. The single easiest way to make your insurance cheaper is to shop around. You will save money, and you might be surprised at how much.

While you're entering your details into a comparison site, make some tweaks and see if the quotes change. For example, have a go at reducing the number of miles you expect to travel - that can make a difference. Insurance companies can be strange.

One year I saved about £30 by parking my car on the road instead of the driveway. And it's always cheaper to keep my car at home, exposed to the elements, rather than in the secure garage I rent down the road. Go figure.

Importantly, though, don't lie. Even bending the truth can invalidate your policy. Be clever but honest.

As a journalist my insurance is always going to be hefty, and I've no idea why. But as soon as I add my wife, who has a relatively dull job in marketing, it always reduces my premium. Give this a try.

Perhaps try adding your mother-in-law or a sibling. They don't need to drive the car, but they could lower the premium. Most insurance companies add interest fees if you pay monthly, which increases the amount you pay over a year, often quite substantially.

It's not always possible to pay hundreds of pounds in one go, but if you can do, it'll save you money. While you're on a comparison site, try raising and lowering your voluntary excess. This can sometimes have the biggest effect.

By doing this, you're sharing some of the liability, which will make you more attractive. Bear in mind though, you're likely to have a compulsory excess added on, so don't raise it too high, because it could be a nasty shock if you ever need to claim. Thinking of selling your car this summer? It all starts with a valuation – and you can get one in under a minute with WeBuyAnyCar .

With over 500 branches across the UK and same-day payment available, it’s one of the quickest ways to find out what your vehicle is worth and get the cash if you’re ready to sell. Used car prices have stayed surprisingly strong, especially for economical hatchbacks and SUVs. Whether you’re upgrading for road trips or switching to a hybrid, a fast online quote can give you a solid starting point – even if you’re still weighing up your options.

To see how WeBuyAnyCar stacks up against other top car-selling platforms like Motorway, Carwow and Auto Trader, read our full article comparing the UK’s most popular car sales sites here ..