How to get car insurance when you’re a first-time driver
When you’ve just learned to drive, there are a number of things you need to have before you can get out on the road. Aside from a car, MOT and tax, insurance is essential. But it can also be very expensive.
So what should you keep in mind when it comes to insuring a car for the first time, and are there ways to make the payment more manageable?
Look at quotes to help choose a car
When you’re car shopping, it’s always a good idea to look at the insurance category for the vehicle you have your eye on. This is because some cars might have prohibitively high insurance premiums for a first-time driver. Meanwhile, other cars, which you’d expect to have costly insurance, might actually be cheaper to insure than you think.
There are hundreds of different car models out there, and for a first-time driver the range can be daunting. Using insurance costs to refine your search can really help you decide what sort of car would be best for you.
Shop around for cheaper car insurance
Insurance shopping can at first feel like a bit of a daunting task. While comparison sites are useful, they don’t always show the same insurers. Some insurers also don’t use comparison sites, meaning you have to gather quotes from those companies too.
It’s wise not to just go for the cheapest quote either. Instead, do your research. Check customer reviews, professional ratings, and other review sites to see what different insurers are like to deal with, how responsive they are and how helpful in the event you need to make a claim.
A black box for lower premium rewards
For first-time drivers, one way to lower the cost of your insurance is to go with a provider who supplies a black box.
The box monitors things like the time of day you drive, speed, braking, and acceleration. This builds a picture of how you drive and rewards careful drivers with lower premiums.
Black boxes are intended to help new drivers prove how safely they drive. However, this sometimes involves a limit on the number of miles driven each year. It can also involve a curfew on driving at certain times, such as late at night, which might be deemed unsuitable for a new and inexperienced driver.
It’s worth looking at the difference in price between black box insurance and insurance without the additional monitoring. You can then decide which one would be better suited to you and the sort of driving you’ll be doing.
Pay monthly to manage car insurance costs
The assumption for many new, inexperienced drivers is that your insurance consists (at least initially) of one huge payment to cover your driving for a year.
Insurers do, however, provide the option to pay monthly. While the total sum you pay works out slightly higher than the one-off payment, this is broken down into smaller and more financially manageable amounts.
If you can’t afford the one-off cost, paying monthly is the best option for insuring your car.
Whenever you shop for insurance you need to be aware that providers are attempting to calculate the risk involved in covering you to drive. You should keep in mind that there are other factors, aside from experience, which can impact the amount you pay for your car insurance. To find out more, visit our blog post, What pumps up your premium?