Do you know what affects the cost of your car insurance?

I thought the article might offer some new info on this area, but didn't add anything new over and above what I would hope everyone knows.

Am surprised that you didn't include Penalty Points in the article. One sure fire way of increasing your next premium is to get caught speeding or whatever.

I have a joint policy with my wife on an ancient Ford Ka. We have no points or claims. I wanted to add my daughter to the policy. She is 34 and has no claims or points.

It doubled to price - work that one out !

Been faithful to the same insurer , Co-operative, since I was 17 years old. Too unbothered to look around elsewhere. Looked for a cheaper option last week, same terms and conditions, with Direct Line- £300 cheaper. Loyalty doesn't pay in the insurance world!

This article is so basic and obvious that it misses out one of THE MAIN REASONS why Car insurance is expensive. All of us who actually pay for Car Insurance at whatever level also make a very substantial contribution to the costs incurred by the many uninsured drivers who cause accidents. I understand that the average cost is around £40 for each Car Insurance policy over and above any other normal criteria. Yet the Insurers do virtually nothing to stop uninsured drivers. They leave it to the Police who have other priorities. If you are careful the likelihood of getting caught are slim and the fine is modest and cheaper than cost of obtaining Insurance.

I informed my long-standing insurer that my husband had died recently - and the premium went up 13% as I was now the sole named driver on my policy! The girl said they gave a reduced premium when a spouse is added "to encourage couples" (why, I have no idea), and the company wrote to say that from an actuarial point of view a single driver is more of a risk than someone who names another driver on their policy. So I just need to find someone to add to my policy and I presume the premium wil go down again....

Taking up the point raised by Anthony Tinslay, how on earth do the uninsured drivers manage to tax their car without an insurnace policy. Whether you go to the post office or apply online, you need to have a policy so how do they manage it? This is another example of where crime pays and i am sorely tempted to follow the same example if it seems the chances of getting caught are very slim. I notice however that insurance companies charge young drivers thousands of pounds for average sized cars so it does not surprise me that they thak this option

Two observations

1/ Bodily injury claims from non-insured drivers are picked up by the Motor Insurers Bureau funded by all motor insurers and of course ultimately paid for by the legitimate policy holders.

2/Those drivers actually caught without insurance almost always have neither car tax nor a valid driving licence.

Jon Gallagher - would advise you not to risk it.

Most police forces are now equipping increasing numbers of their vehicles with

ANPR which pings immediately it scans a vehicle with no insurance posted on the linked Insurance industry database...

Driving uninsured should be a hanging offence with no appeal facility. Its putting everyone at risk. Piddling fines for driving uninsured are not the answer.

If crime pays, being honest does not seem to.

My car was struck from behind about 14 months ago. Small scratches, the other driver virtually nothing. I reported the incident to my insurers but said I wanted to pay for my damage (to keep my 9 year no claims bonus).

When I recently renewed my insurance it was up by about 40%. I looked around for a better deal and the best was about 10% more than the previos year. Why? Because I had been honest enough to report the accident to my insurers!! If I had not done this I could have saved myself about £600!

Is it any wonder that some people try to avoid paying for insurance and road tax?

Reluctant lemming - i personally would not do it as my insurance is less than £200 a year but can see why the young guys do it and i am astonished at the quotes of today. My eldest son has told me that his friend at college has to pay in excess of £3500 per annum, however his parents pay it for him. When i took out my first insurance policy in the early 90's's, after passing my test at the age of 19 I was £50 for 6 months cover for a nissan sports coupe - oh how times are a changing. Apparently those who drive without insurance take out a policy on HP and as soon as they get the cover note they cancel the policy after getting the tax - so my son tells me - apparently he has lots of friends that do this and with living in a large city the police are rarely interested and none of them have been caught yet and with the public spending cuts it will only increase. I remember a few years ago reporting someone driving with no tax and reported it - police response "we are too busy to deal with minor incidents". The guy continued to drive without it.

Get a NEW QUOTE every year (see Mr White's comment) - this could save you £££.

I recently moved over to Generali & got a 25% reduction for first year.

I just looked around and from a renewal pice of £640 (later reduced to £440) from Aviva, got a quote via gocompare with another big insurer for £200. The overpowering moral is "look around".

The big bane for insurers nowadays is people who make a pile out of small bumps, specifying such as back pain or neck pain, usually appearing a few days after the bump. Good to see in the papers the other day that an insurer is suing someone for a fraudulant claim of that nature. Such creeps put premiums up a lot.

Re young peoples' insurance costs: I know people who hold down complex and responsible jobs very well without a car, and if my insurance cost £3500, I would be one of them.