One thing that makes owning a car expensive is paying for car insurance. I’ll show you tips to get very cheap car insurance in the UK. If you’re interested, stay tuned. Today, you will find out how you can get cheap insurance for foreign drivers. It’s going to be a sort of demonstration.
Why is Auto Insurance Expensive?
Some things automatically make your car insurance more expensive, like your age.
Age
If you’re under 25, your car insurance is likely to be higher because younger drivers are seen as more careless, while older drivers are seen as more careful. You can’t change your age, so there’s nothing you can do about this.
Recently moved to the UK
Another thing is if you have recently moved to the UK. They won’t count your driving history from your country. For example, if you drove safely in your home country for 10 years, it won’t matter here.
Without a driving history in the UK, your insurance will be more expensive, especially if you have a new UK license or an international driver’s license. These things increase your car insurance. They believe married people with kids are more careful drivers.
Your neighborhood
Where you live also affects your insurance. If you live in an area known for car thefts or burglaries, your insurance will be higher. If you park your car on the street at night instead of a car park, it can also increase your insurance cost. Having a professional driver’s license can also increase your insurance. These are things you can’t change much.
However, there are still things you can do to reduce your car insurance. Before you move a car out of the seller’s place, make sure it is insured. Driving without insurance can get you in trouble with the police. Insurance protects other road users if you damage their property or your car. Depending on your cover level, it also covers you if your car is broken into or damaged. Insurance is very important.
Cheap Insurance for Foreign Drivers 2024
There are hundreds of insurance companies in the UK. To get the cheapest insurance, do the following:
1. Compare prices from different companies
You might think it’s difficult to call all of them and ask for prices. But there are apps and websites that make this easy.
The app you can use is Money Supermarket. I also recently discovered Compare the Market. You enter your details in these apps, and they show you how much each insurance company will charge you. Choose the cheapest insurance option. There are ways to adjust things in the app to get the cheapest car insurance.
Let’s say you want to buy a car on Auto Trader. I’ll use any Belfast postcode, like BT1 3FG, as an example. Let’s say I want to buy a car for a maximum of £7500, automatic, and petrol. Choose your preferences. I chose BT1 and National because I want sellers in Northern Ireland. If you are in London, I may not be able to come and buy the car from you. So, I chose National. Search, and let’s say a Jeep for £5950. Let’s use this Jeep as an example.
We need the Jeep’s registration number to use the app. Even before you buy the car, check how much insurance will cost. Let’s say this Jeep’s registration number is SC62 UTE. We’ll find the insurance cost for this car.
2. Open Money Supermarket
When you install it, it alerts you when your car needs an MOT check, insurance renewal, and more. Go to car insurance and get a new quote. Enter the car registration, SC62 UTE, and tap find car.
The car will come up as a Jeep Compass Limited 2013 model, petrol, 2.4. Confirm the details. If unsure, call the seller and ask. Say you need the details to see if you can afford the car insurance. Enter your email address. If you don’t have the car yet, select no. Will you be the owner and registered keeper? Select yes. How do you use the car? For social only means you don’t use it much. Social and commuting means you use it for work or study, not business. Social, commuting, and business mean you use it for everything. I usually choose social and commuting.
How many miles does the car do a year? Calculate from your house to work and back. Let’s say it’s 5 miles each way, so 10 miles a day. If you work 5 days a week, that’s 50 miles a week. In a month, it’s 200 miles. In a year, it’s 2400 miles. But for this example, let’s say 2000 miles. Where is the car kept during the day? If on the driveway, it can be hit by another car. A factory or office car park is safer. On the street is less safe. I’ll choose office car park. At night, I’ll choose the driveway because most UK homes don’t have garages. Do you have other cars? Choose no.
3. Enter your details
How long you’ve lived in the UK affects your insurance. The longer, the less you pay. Besides being a nurse, do you have another job? I’ll say no because if I say yes, they might think I use the car more. My other job is in the NHS, so I’ll put healthcare. If you put another job, they might charge more. Is it healthcare assistant, nurse, NHS? Choose the right one. How long you’ve lived in the UK affects your insurance. If over five years, you pay less.
Do you have any other licenses apart from the UK? I’ll put no. How long have you had this license? The longer, the less you pay. Let’s say three years for this example. Put full UK license if you have it. The next thing is how long you’ve owned the car. If you just bought it, you pay more because they think you’re a new driver. I’ll put just purchased for this example. Do you have access to another car? If yes, you pay less. I’ll put yes. How many years have you been driving? Put the maximum to reduce your cost. I’ll say three years for this example.
4. Enter your no-claims bonus status
If you haven’t had an accident or made a claim in a year or two, you pay less. I’ll say one year for this example. Be honest about it.
Do you have any driving convictions? That affects your cost. If you’ve had accidents, that affects it too. Any medical conditions? They might think you could collapse and cause an accident. I’ll put no. When is your car insurance renewal date? If you have insurance, put the date to get reminders for the cheapest insurance. When would you like the new cover to start? If your insurance ends on August 5th, put August 6th for the new cover. I usually put the next day so I don’t forget. Let’s say August 5th. Your payment preference affects your cost. Paying monthly or in installments costs more. Paying one time costs less. Another factor is using a black box. A black box in your car checks how you drive. If you’re a careful driver, you pay less. If you’re careless, you pay more. Honest drivers don’t worry about using a black box.
5. Your level of cover affects your cost
You could choose comprehensive because it covers everything. Do you want to protect your no-claims bonus? If you haven’t had an accident in the past year, protect it in case you have one in the future.
This affects your cost. I usually choose no, but for this example, I’ll choose no. Do you want to use the cover to drive other cars? I choose no because I don’t want to drive other cars. This also affects your cost. Other options like legal cover can affect it too. I usually don’t choose these things. You can choose legal cover if you want. This will affect your cost.
Enter your phone number. If you don’t want them to call you, put any number. Enter your address, which affects your cost.
If you live in a safe area, you pay less. An unsafe area means you pay more. Enter your address and check the prices. Money Supermarket will compare prices for you, so you can choose the cheapest one.
This is how you get the cheapest car insurance in the UK. You basically just have to compare your auto insurance options using this tool.