10 easy ways to save on car insurance

Here are ten simple ways to pay less for your motor insurance:

1. Shop around using insurance comparison sites – self explanatory.

2. Don't pay monthly – Your insurer charges you about 24% extra over the year for the privilege. Even if you pay by credit card and pay it off over six months it will still work out cheaper than spreading it over 12 months at 24% interest.

3. Don't accept a renewal quote - Customer loyalty means nothing to insurers. All the big boys chase new customers by offering big discounts, often charging half the price they charge existing customers for the same cover.

4. Don't make small claims, and set your excess high – Claims under £500 are often not worthwhile, your insurer will take them out of next year's premiums, or refuse to re-insure you. Setting a high excess level when you apply for the insurance can potentially bring the premium down substantially.

5. Be more specific about your job - Certain occupations aren't favoured by insurers, but even the sub-divisions within a sector can make a big difference to your premiums. Go to http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/car-insurance-job-picker to find out what difference a slightly different job title can make to your premiums.

6. Use security devices – And tell your insurer about them.

7. Don't pimp your ride – Insurers don't like modded cars and will charge you extra or not insure you at all.

8. Don't use the address of a country dwelling family member - It might cut your premiums, but if you ever need to claim and your insurer becomes suspicious it might invalidate your insurance policy.

9. Add another driver to your policy - If they have a clean record it can actually reduce the total premium.

10. Buy a different car - The model you drive is the single biggest factor in determining your premiums, choose wisely.

More at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/jun/16/carinsurance

How to cut your insurance premiums down to size

Motley Fool offers some great advice on how to reduce your insurance premiums.

Tips include:

1. Mobile phone insurance - Save money by avoiding the deals offered by your network provider, independent companies usually offer better value.
2. Car insurance - If your car isn't worth much is it really worth insuring it? Switch to third party, fire and theft cover to save on your premiums.
3. Home contents insurance - Companies tend to push higher levels of cover on people than they really need. Look carefully at your policy and adjust levels to the amount that suits you.

Car insurance price hikes add insult to injury for beleaguered motorists

The price of car insurance is higher than it has ever been according to research by Sainsbury's.

After a six percent annual rise, for the first time average car insurance premiums have topped £500; rising from an average of £486.13 one year ago to £514.36 today.

Elderly motorists were hit hardest, with their premiums increasing by an average of ten per cent.

Shariah compliant insurance for Muslims

Today sees the launch of Britain's first sharia-compliant insurance firm. Salaam Halal insurance offers Britain's 1.6 million Muslims FSA approved motor insurance policies in line with the Islamic legal code. The company uses Takaful principles which spread the risk between all policy holders, unlike conventional insurance policies which shift the risk from the policy holder to the insurance firm.

Policyholders' premiums are pooled then put into sharia-compliant investments which don't pay interest or involve alcohol or other prohibited products and services. The common fund is then used to pay any claims. If at the end of the year, the pool has a surplus the excess is passed back to policyholders through a discount on their next premium.

This is the latest product aimed at Britain's growing Islamic finance market, joining the Islamic Bank of Britain, Britain's first 100% Islamic bank and Lloyds TSB's range of Islamic finance products for businesses and individuals.

If the car insurance venture proves successful, Salaam, which offers services in English, Arabic, Bengali, Gujarati or Urdu, hopes to launch home insurance policies later this year.

1 in 10 driving without insurance

Apparently there are currently 1.2 million uninsured motorists on British roads, constituting 10% of the traffic on our roads, and adding an average of about thirty pounds on to insurance premiums. What's more, this figure is consistently rising. All the more reason to check the small print and ensure your car insurance is fully comp.

More on this and what to do if you are involved in an accident with an uninsured driver here.

Insurance fraud on the rise

Insurance fraud is on the rise. The Telegraph reports a 70% increase in false claims in the last three years, costing British insurers £260 million in the last year alone as people struggle to cope with the current credit crisis.

The police report incidents of car crashes being staged to help people struggling with debt put in fraudulent claims to raise funds to ease their financial plight.

Of course predictably enough it doesn't actually cost the insurance companies £260 million, instead it adds an average of £40 to the premium of the average motorist. Bet you didn't see that coming.