How to reduce your Home and Car Insurance

Posted on 14th June 2008 at 17:16 Tagged under Finance

Is your wallet feeling lighter than usual? Run out of cash to buy that 400" plasma? Worried about the future of your finances? Whilst there's not a lot we can do about the credit crunch gripping the country, and fixed priced necessities such as food and petrol, there are some simple steps you can take to help avoid financial meltdown. One of these is lowering your monthly outgoings on services and recurring payments - such as broadband, insurance, and energy.

There's goldmines of money to be saved on financial services such as home and car insurance. A saving of just a tenner a month equates to a saving across the year of £120, which isn't to be sniffed at, and could be used for a weekend away or 12,000 penny sweets. A great place to start lowering your insurance is with one of the many comparison websites on the web. One such comparion site is GoCompare.com, where you can compare car insurance or compare home insurance, as well as insurance for vans, motorbikes, travel, and humans.

GoCompare.com is different from other comparison websites in that they use a magical five-star rating system. You tell GoCompare what you require, and they come back to you with not just the prices, but a rating system showing which products most match your requirements. The price you see is the price you'll pay, with up-to-date information and accurate information, and the comparison is made on a like for like basis, so you can choose exactly which insurer you wish to buy from. The comparison takes place at lightning speed with GoCompare's simple four-step process.

As well as comparing prices to get the best deal, there are also a few simple steps you can take to help reduce your car insurance costs:

1. Don't just park anywhere - if you leave your car in a driveway or garage as opposed to on the road, it's much less likely to be hit by a skip lorry or have the windows smashed in by drunken yobs, resulting in a huge saving of between 3 and 7%!

2. Prevent it being stolen - a car with an alarm, immobiliser or tracker is much less likely to be stolen, resulting in lower insurance for you, and saving all the hassle of dealing with a stolen car. Bit of a no brainer really.

3. Unpimp your ride - any modifications you make to your car will result in higher insurance, except security enhancements. Resist the temptation to pimp your ride, and tell Westwood to shove off.

4. Keep it clean - whilst insurers don't charge more for dirty cars - yet - if you have a clean license, less convictions means lower insurance costs.

5. Pay in one go - paying monthly may be convenient, but insurers are likely to charge interest on top. If you have the option to pay it all in one lump sum - go for it, it'll most likely be cheaper.

6. Change your job - think about what you put as your occupation. In a multi-skilled world, if you could define your job as many different things, pick the one you think might result in lower insurance costs. For example, a doctor is likely to have lower car insurance than 'Getaway Driver'.

Similar sort of tips apply to home insurance, by installing additional security features, and not living on a flood plain or in tornado alley, you're likely to be able to reduce your insurance costs. Just use your common sense, and think about what would result in lower insurance costs if you were playing the insurance company. By taking advantage of some of these tips, and comparing your car insurance or comparing your home insurance with our recommended comparison site, GoCompare.com, you could easily save money on your insurance costs. It costs nothing, except for a small amount of time, and could result in a big saving.