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Car insurance, one of those things we dread every year. Always wondering if we can get it cheaper, should I pay a higher excess, what about younger drivers? I’m going to try to write a little post here to help with the struggle of modified car insurance in the UK RIGHT NOW to try to give you a little help and guide you towards a better driving experience and less stress.
A little about myself though, I have worked within the motor trade selling new and used cars helping people, people like you to set up their insurance for the day they collected their new cars and whatever you take from this remember everyone’s experience may vary depending on what car you want to buy to who you may or may not put on as a named driver. I have seen plenty of variables but if done correctly you can save quite a lot of money, so let’s get into it.
Cheapest Car Insurance In The UK
Whether you’re 18, 21 or 25, when you pass your test and you’re looking at you’re first car, you never think of the other things like tax and running costs. For me it was ‘what massive spoiler can I put on the back of this’. But what eventually comes up in the minds of the smart is ‘what is the cheapest car insurance?’. I know you’re one of the smart ones (unlike me) because you’re reading this and I wish I had this when I had passed.
For a lot of young drivers finding a compromise between a nice car and economic to run, insure and tax is like a mine field and no one knows where to start. Sometimes a parent might chip in and give some advice, but parents passed 20 years ago and things have changed. Insurance is probably at a record high in the UK. The’re are a number of reasons why, like car theft, accidents, sometimes the area you live in. But what I found is the car makes a lot of difference and it doesn’t always have to be a cheap banger.
For example, I have a couple of cars on the drive myself, a 1.6 petrol and a 2.0 diesel and believe it or not they are the same to insure, even though the 1.6 is worth around £500 and the 2.0 is around £15,000. But the insurance is the same. Don’t get me wrong the 2.0 costs more to buy but it’s a lot of fun. Something to take into consideration when looking at the overall cost.
Because there are 50 groups of insurance, there is a big selection of cars, newer ones will typically have more safety features and that might help to bring the cost down, while older cars may have more problems and relate more risk on the road.
To find the cheapest car insurance, these are the things I would look at
- Quotes for different cars, older/newer, engine sizes, the cost of the car
- Whether you will have a named driver (this could be a parent or partner) this can sometimes lower it
- Whether third party / fully comp, I would always go fully comp regardless, but it might be the difference between being able to afford the fuel
- Maybe opting for a black box (and not burning fuel for days)
- Putting up the excess (if you can afford it) to lower premiums
All of these things are what would normally come under the questions when setting up insurance, which can take 15 minutes or so, but there is a quicker way.
Car Insurance Comparison Sites UK
Insurance comparison sites have been around for a while now and if you haven’t used one, they might seem a little daunting but they are a time saver and a money saver. They ask for all your details like name, address, registration of your car and other generic questions. They take the information and put it to 100’s of other companies and they tell you which is cheaper, which means you only have to fill one form instead of 100.
This means you have more time to research them mods you have been desiring! These sites will normally put the cheapest quotes to the top for you, but now your details are there, if you need to find quotes for a different car to compare the costs, just update the registration and search again. This makes finding the best insurance quotes simple as you can try out different cars, play around with your excess and add mum and dad to the policy.
These are great tools and I recommend using one. There are quite a selection when it comes to these sites but I usually use the same one that had my details stored so I don’t keep adding them in everywhere. This way I know who to go to and who I can trust with my details.
Modified Car Insurance For Young Drivers
Now I know what you’re thinking? But I want modified Car Insurance and I get it, honestly. There are some specific sites that deal with modified cars but a few won’t accept you till you come of a certain age, usually 25, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use the comparison sites to help us find one for us.
If you buy a car already modified, make sure to declare all the mods, if you don’t they may void your insurance and you may have a bigger bill in case of an accident, which no one likes, so it’s better to be honest.
If you buy a car not modified and want to do some work, just make sure you update them as you add that new sub woofer to your boot build. Trust me, it’s better to be honest, that way in case of an accident, you’ll be covered on that aswel. On the subject if you are young, like 18 and this is your first car, don’t go mad with the bits, from experience, little mods might be alright, but you’re better off waiting a year or 2 for the premiums to go down.
Eventually a few years of no claims will reward you and you’ll be over the moon that you don’t have double the car price in insurance, but you still want it lower, so what can you do?
Can I Lower My Car Insurance Premiums?
Of course you can lower your premiums and there are some great ways to do it that have worked for me and others in the past, so here goes
- Play around with your quote
- If you’ve changed address, make sure it’s up to date
- Don’t auto renew, search for a new quote, there’s no shame in shifting companies every year
- Try calling the company when you get you right renewal, they may do you a special rate
- Get a cooler/newer car (not that old cars aren’t cool)
Honestly, these have worked for me in the past, never settle on a current insurance company, keep changing every year if you need to, they will keep pushing their luck. A true bit of advice is if your car is lower, so is your insurance. OK maybe that one is a lie, but it never hurt to try!
So What Should I Do?
Nice and simply,
- Go on comparison sites and get quotes for different cars,
- Find a car that has good insurance and looks the bees knees
- Declare all mods and be honest
- Never auto renew your insurance
- Be safe and have fun
Driving doesn’t have to be boring, you’re not boring, that’s why you want a modified car. So once you’ve done the boring stuff (even though these tips should have saved you time) get out there and enjoy the car culture and get on some open roads.
if you have anything you want to add to this or feel I missed something off, drop a comment below and I will be sure to help you.
All the best
Kevin
Kevin@boostandcamber.com
Founder of boostandcamber.com
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