Car insurance - cover not cost

The average car insurance premium is now a whopping £724.28, according to the AA British Insurance Premium Index. But don't be tempted to cut corners on your cover, as you can get the right policy at the right price - as long as you know how.

If you are involved in an accident and you don't have the right motor insurance - and there were nearly 30,000 road accidents in the UK last year alone that resulted in injury, according to the Department of Transport - you could be left short-changed.

The answer is to tailor a deal to suit your circumstances, so you get the best price based on the level of cover you require.

Construct your own policy

At moneysupermarket.com our brand new car insurance comparison tool compares quotes from more than 88 brands. The prices you receive through the tool are the same as through the providers direct but you have the added advantage of comparing them like-for-like in further detail with other policies from different insurers.

In addition, our recently revamped tool now includes a host of new features to help you accurately design your own policy. When you reach the results page you can now make use of a new "policy wizard" allowing you to add and remove features and see how the insurance quotes change in real time. You can now choose to change the vehicle you are insuring (ideal if you're shopping around for a new car); whether or not you require a courtesy car; how high you want the excess to be; and whether you need features such as personal accident cover or windscreen cover.

Altering a policy to suit your needs can make a significant difference to the price you receive. For example, a 26-year-old male driver in a 1998 Ford Fiesta Zetec with five years' no-claims could pick up a policy for as little as £272.55 a year with a £250 voluntary excess. However, if the same driver decided he couldn't afford an excess the price would leap to £296.07 a year - an increase of nearly £25.

If the same motorist chose to add no-claims discount protection, their cheapest premium would rise to £322.17.

The key is to think about the options you need and also to ensure you are honest with your insurer. There is no point in claiming you park your car in a garage overnight for example, as if it is then stolen off the street your claim will be invalid. However, if you do legitimately reduce your risk level to the insurer you could make significant savings.

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