There are a range of factors that impact upon whether you can obtain cheaper car insurance. Not all of them you will be able to control; such as where you live or your age. However, there are some basic things you can do to get cheaper car insurance premiums.

· Shop around – insurers may claim to be the cheapest in their marketing campaigns, however large direct insurers such as Direct Line or Churchill will not provide the cheapest insurance for the whole market place. There are tens of brokers and specialist insurers that offer cheaper insurance for less main stream requirements (such as women drivers, drivers with good records, older drivers, young drivers, drivers with convictions or people with high performance cars)

· Drive less! - Insurers will ask you how many miles you drive per year. The lower the number, the lower your rates. If you commute, you can expect to pay extra. You must be truthful, its no good falsifying your details for the sake of cheaper premiums – some insurance companies have even started using lie detecting equipment to detect false claims.

· Install a car alarm - If you have comprehensive car insurance, you'll get lower rates if you install a car alarm or an immobiliser. In fact, a car alarm could easily pay for itself over time through lower insurance rates. Even a basic immobiliser could earn you a 5% discount. It all adds up. Remember that the more secure your car is the cheaper the premium will be.

· Shop Online – many insurers now offer up to 10% discounts for signing up to their insurance policies online (we have flagged the discounts on the site). Many of these companies will offer some of the cheapest car insuranc in the market, so it’s a double bonus!

· Consider a higher excess - Do you really need to claim for small amounts? If not then increase the excess to an affordable level.

· Restrict the driving to specified named drivers - If you limit the number of named drivers insurers will reward you with cheaper premiums because they know exactly who they are betting on!

· Do you need the added extras? Some companies provide a range of added extras with their policies, but you may be better off finding a policy that has less frills if it means you will get cheaper car insurance. Here are the sort of things that are on offer: 24 hour customer support, free travel for the insured vehicle, cover for audio and telephone equipment, use of a courtesy car, ability to pay in monthly instalments, uninsured loss recovery service.

· Can you afford to pay annually rather than monthly? If you pay in a lump sum, you avoid paying to have your premiums financed over 12 monthly instalment. You could pay an extra 20%, as they do not offer a low cost financing deal.

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