A car is considered to be a classic if it is more and ten years old and of £15,000 in value. This is open to a little debate as some firms will offer classic insurance to cars of five years old and some will even offer it for new classic cars. This includes cars that have been made as a modern replica of classic cars such as the Aston Martin DB5.

The car has to be your second car and cannot be your main method of private travel. There are also conditions attached regarding how you store and maintain your classic car. It must also be used for less than around 6,000 miles per year and not used for ordinary activities such as popping out to the shops. Special occasions such as weddings are allowed however.

To insure a car as classic, you must have a UK driving license and the car must be form the UK as well. The minimum age is 21 although premiums will be cheaper the older you are, in general.

Some insurance firms do not provide classic car insurance policies and the best option is usually a firm that specialises in classic car insurance. Many insurance firms simply cannot cope with the hassle that may be caused by a claim on a classic car policy.

You would be well advised to check all of the conditions and small print before selecting an insurance policy for your classic car. Many firms have very specific requirements on the minimum value of the car, maximum annual mileage and many other contributing factors. One firm may consider a car as classic and thus offer insurance whereas another may not be quite so interested. Normal rules of insurance apply and the same ways of reducing your premiums are all in force with these types of insurance.

However, some insurers offer discounts and benefits to loyal customers and these can often make the new deals less beneficial. You need to ask your current insurer for their best deals and if you don’t believe them, check for yourself by getting a new quote online.

Your no claims discount is the reduction in your premiums that comes about because you have not made a claim for a certain number of years. Usually, the benchmark for a significant discount is four years or not having made an insurance claim. At this point, you are considered to be a safe driver and thus represent a far lesser risk to the insurance firm.

You can take your no claims discount from one firm to another but the discounts may not be quite so rewarding. You need to consider this point and don’t forget to ask each firm about their policy in this area. This could save you a lot of hassle in the long run and never sign on the dotted line until you know you are getting the best deal they can offer you.

The vast majority of insurance firms will allow you to take your no claims discount with you when you make the switch from one firm to theirs. This is not a guarantee so be sure to ask. Your no claims bonus will not disappear if you have not made a claim yet there are some exceptions. If you are moving to a more comprehensive policy then there may be some complications along the way in this respect.

Your no claims bonus is almost holy as far as getting the cheapest insurance is concerned and will generally stay with you when you swap policies.

One way to do this is to consider your annual mileage. If you drive more then there is a greater chance of you having an accident. Using public transport for your daily commute where possible and not using your car for short journeys can cut your insurance costs.

You can also buy many security devices such as the steering wheel lock that is both inexpensive and easy to fit to your car. This will deter thieves and thus be less of a risk to the insurance firm. You can also have alarm systems installed or even just a sticker on the window saying the car is alarmed. Also on a security note, don’t park your car where it is going to look like a target for thieves. If you have a garage then use it and make sure you tell your insurance firm all of these details. If it can reduce your premiums, they are hardly going to ask you these things.

You can reduce your premiums also by increasing your deductible. This is the amount of money you are willing to pay before making a claim. You can also reject cover for certain things such as theft. This places the risk on your shoulders but will reduce your car insurance premiums.

The other option is to shop around and find yourself the best possible deal. There are many websites that offer to do the work for you and can find you a lower insurance quote. Many of them are free to use and it will cost you nothing to find out if you could save money. However you do it, you need not pay over the odds for your cover.

You can opt to have your 17 year old put on your car insurance policy as a named driver and this will be much cheaper, providing you are willing to let him or her use your pride and joy. One word of caution here though: This option is legal but not if your 17 year old is the main driver of the car. Claiming that you are the main driver when this clearly isn’t the case can result in you being liable for fraud.

You can try going to one of the car insurance firms that specialise in policies for young drivers as these may often be cheaper. Other than this, I would advise you to be completely honest when asking for quotes and try as many firms as possible. Using price comparison websites can be quite a good option and will show how expensive it can be. Just take a look at the most expensive quotes which can reach five figures.

Many insurance firms are currently accepting certain advanced driving certifications and are lowering insurance quotes as a consequence. These courses are generally very cheap and can reduce your premiums by up to 30%. Not all firms will reduce their premiums based on this though and you need to factor this in when deciding between insurance policies.

Car insurance for a 17 year old can be exceptionally expensive, especially for 17 year old male drivers. However, there are steps you can take to reduce this cost and you can add your 17 year old to your policy for less than £1000. If you wish to get a separate policy for your 17 year old then you should be aiming for just under £2,000 although you may be able to get a good deal.

The first thing to remember is that car insurance policies are not like the items on your supermarket shelves – the price you are offered doesn’t have to be the final price. You can often get your car insurance down significantly. Car insurance firms will welcome your business and will often offer all manner of discounts that aren’t mentioned on price comparison sites.

Car insurance firms take into account your age, gender and all manner of things. You must be honest at all times when filling out an insurance form since it is fraudulent to do otherwise but there are steps you can take to make yourself appear more risk free. One such step is to take an advanced driving course to improve your driving skills or to make sure your car is parked off the main road and/or well locked and secured.

You can get your insurance rates down very significantly by taking some of the risk on yourself. Making the policy third party only will do this, as will agreeing to pay the first part of any claim. This is called your excess and can help lower your premiums if you are willing to take the risk yourself.

Insurance firms are also not willing to let you pay less than they are offering. This means you have to check the market regularly to ensure you are getting the best deals possible. Don’t limit your search to price comparison sites either as you may miss the best deals. Talking to others of your age and gender about which policies they are on is also a good idea.

You need to be wise about car insurance rates and never just take what you are given. You need to think that there is always a better deal somewhere and you will often find it.

There are a large number of price comparison websites around today that can help you in this way. These allow you to fill in the information regarding yourself and your vehicle as well as the cover you want and then returns the quotes of many insurance firms. This saves you running around all of the various firms and will order the results, starting with the cheapest.

This isn’t always 100% accurate and often the most up to date deals are not added onto the site as soon as they are available. This means that you could possibly be missing the best deals. Price comparison sites are still able to provide some manner of saving in most cases though.

You should always go to the firms that aren’t listed on these sites too as these may have the cheaper quotes for your circumstances. This takes a little longer but you can get quotes online nowadays and it won’t take too long. You must also ensure to choose the same options for each quote. You can only compare them clearly if you know the quotes are for similar cover.

When you get your quotes, you need to weigh up what cover you are getting for your money and try out different options. Some firms may include things in the policy that you don’t want to have covered and thus you need to pay attention to detail when comparing car insurance quotes. You need to look at exactly what you are getting for your money as the cheapest quote may not cover everything that you want.

Comparing insurance quotes may be a bit of a chore but if you do it well you will be financially rewarded. Once you have the quote you want, make sure to get that price down as far as possible and don’t just accept the first price you come to either.

One thing that can be done by all age groups is to increase your deductible. If you are on a fully comprehensive insurance policy then perhaps you could consider making it a third party only. This would mean accepting some of the risk if your car was damaged or stolen but the premiums would be a bit lower.

Some insurance companies are increasingly interested in advanced driving courses such as the pass plus programme. This proves to the firm that you are able to drive sensibly and also teaches you some more driving skills, thus decreasing the chance of you having an accident. Some firms are more accepting of these courses that others and some won’t reduce your premiums at all. You just need to make sure to contact the insurance firms to understand their policy.

Smaller cars are generally less expensive to insure for a number of reasons. Firstly, they are less expensive and thus will be less costly to repair and replace. Having smaller engines that are slower to accelerate are also an advantage in this way as you will find it harder to drive at speed which is, of course, a big cause of accidents. It goes without saying that upgrades and sports packages should be left off of your car.

You should also ensure that you car has a good security level and that it would be difficult to steal. This will also lower the risk to your insurer.

Searching the market is another simple but effective way of getting the very best deal. Don’t just use price comparison sites as these don’t include the firms that don’t wish to pay commission to them. Ask your friends who they use as well and get quotes directly from the companies. By following these tips, you should be able to get your insurance price down.

The cut off age is usually around 25 although some insurance firms say 30. This is the age at which the premiums are evened up but why is this?

The facts would suggest that young men are indeed the group of people that cause the most car accidents. There are many reasons for this but the statistics don’t have a habit of lying. Young men are not the best drivers according to the statistics and thus insurance firms are only too happy to charge them more.

Many factors are blamed for this. Some say that young males are too interested in pulling the birds with their cars and drive fast to impress them. Another reason is the boy racer culture which turns roads into racetracks. However, this is the case and men have to pay the price. This doesn’t take into account driving experience or the cost of insurance. There are endless statistics on male driving and none of them look good. Although there is no evidence to suggest that men are more aggressive behind the wheel, there is plenty of evidence that most accidents involve men.

All of these facts explain why men have to pay more for their car insurance. At the younger ages, this difference is at its most noticeable, even if the male has a no claims discount and longer experience, the figures have somewhat distorted the market. The only area that is a real difference is the level of risk taking behaviour and thrill seeking. This is the real reason behind the difference in insurance costs.

So there you have it, you may not consider yourself to be a boy racer or an unsafe driver but the reason for men paying more is simply due to the excessive thrill seeking and risk taking by some members of the male gender.