How to Navigate the Car Insurance Process for First-time Drivers

If you’ve just leased or purchased your very first car, the idea of finding the right car insurance policy for you and your vehicle can be quite overwhelming, if not a little intimidating. With hundreds of providers and varying options to choose from, it can be difficult to know how to navigate all the car insurance quotes that are thrown your way.

To help you out, we’ve put together this helpful guide, outlining the steps you should take, what you should look for and ultimately, how to get the best deal on your car insurance policy.

Understand the Different Types of Car Insurance

Before we delve into some of our top tips and tricks, it’s important to understand the different types of car insurance options that are available to you. There are three main categories for car insurance:

• Third-party only – this policy only covers damage that you have caused to other people, their property, or their vehicle. This option does NOT provide any cover for your own vehicle.

• Third-party fire and theft – this type of policy offers cover for the third party, including damage to their property and vehicle, along with cover provided for your vehicle in the event that is it stolen or damaged in a fire.

• Fully comprehensive – finally, you have the fully comp insurance option. This type of insurance covers you for everything such as third party, fire, theft, and damage to your vehicle in the unfortunate event of an accident.

It is always recommended to use fully comprehensive insurance. Whilst this is of course the most expensive option, it provides you with higher levels of cover.

Top tip: to help reduce your premiums, you can add a family member onto your policy. However, they must not act as though they are the main driver of the vehicle. This is called fronting, which is illegal.

What are Insurance Quotes Based on?

The quote you get for your new insurance policy is based on numerous factors. Every quote is unique - there is no one size fits all quote for young or first-time drivers and insurance providers will consider the following factors before giving you a quote:

• Age

• Gender

• Your occupation

• How long you have been driving

• The amount of excess you are willing to pay

• The make and model of your vehicle

• Any named drivers on your policy

• Whereabouts you park your vehicle

• The postcode of the area in which you live (this is because some areas are considered more high risk than others)

The price of your quote will be calculated based on these individual factors. Therefore, it’s always very important to be honest and fill out all your information correctly to get the most accurate price.   

Always Use Comparison Websites

The biggest and most useful piece of advice we can offer you is this: always make sure you use price comparison sites. These sites work towards accumulating a selection of quotes based on your personal information so you can compare all your options to find the best fit for you.

You can filter these results by annual or monthly payments, and it always shows you the cheapest options first. Be aware that if you are a young driver and this is your first ever insurance policy, most of the top results will be Black Box policies. Telematics boxes are a great way to reduce the premiums on your first ever insurance policy.

These websites, such as Compare the Market, will display all the information you’ll need to make an informed decision, from monthly payment costs to excess and voluntary costs. It’s up to you to browse all the options to find something that suits your budget.

Do you Need Add-Ons?

Insurance providers will also show you the initial quote, then provide you with the option to add on extra benefits. It is a common misconception, especially with new drivers, that fully comprehensive insurance covers you with all aspects of driving, however, this is not always the case.

If you want breakdown cover or a courtesy car, there is a chance you may have to include these as add-ons to your insurance policy. Whilst they may increase your premiums there are some add-ons that are definitely worth the extra cost.

Make sure to review your policy very carefully – check what is included and what is not in the quote for your car insurance.

Top Tips to Cut Down your Car Insurance Costs

Now you know some of the basics, here are some of our top tips to help you save money on your car insurance.

• Drive the best you can – this one is obvious. If you drive sensibly and prove in your first year that you are a responsible motorist without any points on your license, your quotes will start to go down in price.

• Excess – there will always be a certain amount of excess you need to pay if you have to make a claim on your insurance. In some cases, you can choose to increase the sum of excess you pay to reduce your premiums but remember, this money will come out of your own pocket should you need to pay an excess.

• Pay yearly – whilst you are always provided with the choice to pay monthly or yearly, we always recommend paying annually. This is because it usually works out cheaper to pay up-front instead of spreading the cost out over 12 months. This is due to the interest that you’ll be paying on top of your monthly payments.

• Always be truthful – some people get tempted to tell lies on their car insurance application to try and get their costs down. However, if you do have an accident and need to make a claim on your insurance and your details are incorrect, your insurance provider will not pay out, costing you potentially huge amounts of money.

• Add an additional driver – if you add an additional driver to your policy, this may work towards reducing your premiums. The first option would be your parents due to their years of experience, however, make sure to check if they have a good driving record.

With the above information, you should be able to navigate the plethora of car insurance quotes out there and find the best one for you. If you would like any more information on car insurance quotes for leased cars, please contact us today.