What information do I need to run an insurance quote?

There are a few details you have to give in order to get your quote. 

• Your car number plate
• Any modifications you’ve made
• An estimate of how many miles you drive each year
• The type of licence you hold, how long you’ve had it for
• Your occupation
• Details of any points, speeding tickets or disqualifications you’ve had in the last 5 years, and any accidents you’ve had or claims you’ve made
• Any no-claims bonus
• Is anyone else going to drive your car? If so, you’ll need their names and licence details too.

What kind of insurance should I get?

There are three main kinds of car insurance policy to choose from.

• Third party car insurance is the lowest level of cover. It insures against damage and injuries that you, or your passenger, cause to another person or their property in an accident. It doesn’t pay for any damage or injury to you or your car.
• Third party (fire and theft) car insurance provides third party cover as above, but it will also pay to repair or replace your car if it’s stolen, damaged or destroyed by fire.
• Comprehensive cover offers the most protection as it protects your car and other people’s property.

How can I find a cheap car insurance policy?

The cheapest car insurance policies for 1% of MoneySuperMarket customers were quoted £118* or less. Cheap car insurance policies can also be obtained by increasing your excess, getting your mileage right, adding a named driver and paying for your policy in a lump sum upfront payment. 

Here’s why each of these factors can reduce your premium:

• Increasing your premium: By increasing your car insurance excess your insurer will offer you a lower price as you will have to pay towards the cost of a claim.  
• Record your mileage accurately: Overestimating the miles you drive a year will mean you end up paying for miles you are not using. 
• Add an experienced named driver: If you’re a younger driver, you might want to think about adding a more experienced named driver to reduce your premiums. Don’t be tempted to put them down as the main driver, though, as that’s illegal (it’s called ‘fronting’) and could invalidate your cover.

If you can afford to, try to pay for your cover in a lump sum up-front. This will save you the interest you have to pay on monthly payments. Just make sure, when finding a cheap car insurance quote, you don’t compromise on the quality or scope of the cover you buy.

*Based on MoneySuperMarket Data, Jan-April 16.

What are the various types of car insurance?

In addition to standard car insurance, there are specialist versions:

• Black box: your car is fitted with a black box or global positioning system (GPS) which transmits information back to the insurance company via a satellite. Insurers monitor things such as the times of day and night you’re behind the wheel, average speeds, acceleration, braking and cornering and calculate premiums accordingly.
• Multi-car: covers all the cars registered at a particular address. If you’ve got several cars, this sometimes can be more cost-effective than having lots of different policies.
• Short-term or temporary: cover which you can take out for a day if you need to, or for up to a month if you need a longer policy.
• Learner: if you’re learning to drive, a learner policy will give you comprehensive cover to drive someone else’s car.
• Classic car: specialist cover for owners of classic cars. 

Level of service

We aim to show you car insurance quotes from as many insurance companies as possible, so that you can find the right policy for you. Unfortunately, we can’t promise to show quotes from every insurance provider, because not all companies want to be included on comparison websites. We won’t offer you advice or make a recommendation, but we will provide you with all the information you need to help you decide which is the right policy for you. You can find out more about how we work here.