How May A Student Lower The Cost Of Car Insurance?

It probably does not come as a surprise to you to read that one of the most expensive groups of people to arrange car insurance for is the young motorist who has recently passed his or her driving test. So, if you are a student living away from home and have a car, are their any ways in which you could potentially reduce the amount that you pay for your car insurance?

We examine a number of possible ways that a student may be able to get lower the amount they are being asked to pay for their car insurance

There are a number of ways that a university student may be able to lower the cost of their car insurance.

Make and model of car

The make and model of car that you buy can have a significant impact on the premium that you pay for your car insurance. Cars are placed into one of fifty insurance groups with those vehicles in group 50 being more expensive to insure than those in group 1.

So, if you were driving around in a powerful, expensive Porsche Boxster you would expect to pay more for your cover than if you were driving about in a Renault Clio with a 1.2 engine.

Where you keep your car overnight

As a university student, you may be able to keep your car overnight locked within an electrically gated secure car park at the University’s Halls of Residence. Your car insurance may be cheaper than if you kept your car parked overnight on a city street outside a house that you share with a number of other students.

Level of cover

There are three levels of cover for car insurance – third party, third party fire and theft and fully comprehensive. You would usually find that the later is the most expensive as it provides a greater level of cover than the others. However, it is important that you have the most suitable level of cover to meet your requirements as a student. For instance, as third party and third party fire and theft do not provide cover for damage to your own car in a road traffic accident whereas comprehensive cover should, where would you find the money to buy a replacement car if yours was written off in an accident?

Excess

As a young driver you may be required to pay a higher excess towards the cost of any repair work to your vehicle. However, you may be able to pay an even larger voluntary excess that may result in you paying a lower premium.

Telematics

Telematics, also known as black box car insurance, is becoming increasingly popular – in particular amongst younger motorists such as students. This is because the premium for such cover tends to be lower than that of conventional car insurance as the cost of the cover is, let’s say, personally tailored to a number of factors such as when you drive the car and how you drive it.

Annual Premium

Whilst, as a student, funds can be tight, if you can afford to pay the annual premium all in one go rather than spread it over say 12 months the total cost is likely to be lower by paying the whole amount up-front.

So, as you can see, there are ways that you can potentially lower your car insurance premium as a student.