While gender, age, lifestyle, car model and price are huge premium influencers, another key to a lower monthly rate is to avoid breaks between periods of insurance and make your credit card minimum repayments regularly. Providers also look at insurance history. Similar to medical cover providers, car insurance providers dislike insurance gaps, and they are equally cautious of those with negative credit ratings.

Consistency is important to providers. Research shows that consumers who manage their credit responsibly have fewer claims. This means that South African drivers can reduce their monthly premiums by keeping their car insured without breaks, paying bills on time and nurturing ‘good credit’.

Where we live, the theft risk of the area, and our personal claims history all affect a car insurance premium. To reduce premiums, clean out the garage and get the car securely parked in it, rather than on the sidewalk. Don’t have a garage? Install approved safety and anti-theft devices because a safer car = less risk = lower premium.

Once installed, inform your insurer of these changes and request a revised quote for your plan. Not only will a vehicle tracking device lower a comprehensive car insurance premium, but it will also help police recover the car if it is stolen.

Not all car insurance policies are equal. Whereas some come with added services and benefits at no extra cost, others charge for the same service. Before you sign the dotted line, ask yourself if you need all those add-ons as they affect your premium. Also, many insurers offer a reduction for policies that cover several types of possessions, like having both household and car insurance on the same policy. You may also receive a discount if you have more than one car insured with the same provider.

Once could ask why no one has told South African drivers about this and about sites like Coversearch.co.za…

Do not let high car insurance premiums force you to cancel your insurance like many others have had to do in recent times. South Africans who have had a loss of income that lead to them giving up their cars have also lost all the money paid to their insurance provider over the years, before cancelling their policies. If they’d known that they could have reduced their rates by following a few of the simple actions above, they wouldn’t have to rely on public transport or friends and family to get around.

Are you ready to save money? Then put Coversearch.co.za to the test.