Insurers calculate the cost of your insurance based on a number of factors, each of which is designed to determine the level of risk. This includes things like your driving experience and location, but is mainly based on your age. Young drivers have a statistically higher risk of being involved in an accident, which means that they pay much more for car insurance.
If you’re over 30, you’re considered a lower risk of having an accident compared to an 18-21-year-old, so you’ll likely pay less for insurance, even if you don’t have much driving experience. According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), drivers aged 18-20 pay an average of £972 per year for car insurance, whereas drivers aged 31-35 pay an average of £426.
While you may pay slightly more for insurance than another driver your age who has been driving for years, you’re still likely to be paying less than half as much as a new driver who is 18-20 years old.
If you’re a new driver over 30, you should be able to get cheaper insurance compared to younger new drivers, but can still benefit from the following methods for getting cheap car insurance.
Also known as black box insurance, this type of policy requires that you attach a black box to your car to measure your driving performance. The better your driving, the less risk you’ll be of having an accident and the cheaper your insurance will be. This type of policy is popular with new or young drivers who don’t have much driving history.
As a new driver over 30, you could also benefit from a telematics policy, as it allows you to show that you’re a safe, responsible driver.
Your insurance excess is the amount you have to pay in order to make a claim on your insurance. This amount is normally set by your insurer based on the type of policy and level of cover you require, but many insurers will give you the option of choosing a voluntary excess amount.
If you choose to increase the size of your excess, you’ll likely be offered lower insurance premiums, meaning you can save money on the cost of insurance. Keep in mind that you’ll then need to pay the higher excess amount in the event you need to make a claim.
If you don’t make a claim on your insurance for an extended period of time, you can build what’s known as a no-claims bonus. Drivers who have already made a claim on insurance are more likely to make another claim in future, which means they’ll be more expensive to insure. To encourage customers to drive responsibly and not make insurance claims, providers will generally offer discounted insurance to those who never make a claim on their policy.
The cost of insurance is also heavily influenced by the type of vehicle you need to insure. Every vehicle is put into an insurance group, which is a classification system designed to reflect a vehicle’s risk of being damaged or stolen, and the likely cost of repairs. If you’re driving a powerful, expensive or large car, you’ll generally pay a lot more for insurance, especially if you’re a new or young driver.
If you’ve just started driving, it may be worth choosing a modest or cheaper car to insure, as you’ll then represent less risk to the insurer.
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