The nation’s WORST drivers

Which drivers are most likely to make a claim on their car insurance?

Drivers of luxury brand cars are most likely to make an ‘at-fault’ claim on their car insurance, according to a new study, suggesting that the nation’s worst drivers may be those behind the wheel of more expensive motors.

MoneySuperMarket analysed more than 11 million car insurance quotes from the last 12 months, to see which drivers made the most and the fewest ‘at-fault’ claims for motor accidents.

And its research revealed that smart car drivers top the list of those least likely to make an ‘at-fault' claim.

The nation’s best drivers

Here are the cars owned by drivers that made the fewest claims:

So not only are smart cars some of the smallest that you’ll see on the road, they also seem to be driven by some of the nation’s safest drivers.

One perhaps surprising result here is the high placing of Subaru, which has traditionally had a reputation of being popular with ‘boy racers’.

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The nation’s worst drivers

Now, what about the cars owned by drivers that are most likely to make an at-fault claim? You may be surprised by the luxury brands that make the top five.

What does a claim mean for your insurance?

With any form of insurance, whether it’s car, home or even life, your premium is a reflection of how ‘risky’ the insurer thinks you are – in other words, how likely you are to make a claim.

Unsurprisingly, if you have recently made a claim – particularly when you have been at fault - then the premium you will have to hand over will be a fair bit higher. Not just that, but you’ll lose your no claims bonus too.

And as insurers ask for you to declare details of claims going back up to five years, you may be paying the price for a while too. Exactly how much extra you will have to pay will vary, depending on your car and the details of the incident. Even if you weren’t at fault for the incident, you’ll end up paying more for your insurance – a study by the AA last year found that no-fault claims add as much as 30% to insurance premiums!

Save money on your car insurance

There are lots of different things that you can do to cut the cost of your car insurance, even if you have had to make a claim. These include:

Shop around

Never just accept your insurer’s renewal quote, as it will almost always be more expensive than what you could get by switching to a new insurer. I had to sort out my own insurance last week, and my existing car insurer’s renewal quote was a monster £170 more than the cheapest policy I found from a different insurer.

Remember to also get quotes from the likes of Aviva and Direct Line who don’t appear on price comparison sites!

Buy online

You will almost always pay less for your car insurance if you sort it out online rather than over the phone.

Improve your car’s safety

If you can park it off-road or in a garage, it makes it far less likely to be stolen. As a result, your premium will be lower. On top of that, it may be worth adding an immobiliser or alarm, which should also help cut your premiums.

Change your job title

Your occupation is one thing that is used to calculate your premium, but the differences between job titles can be a bit odd. Play around with different job titles that still accurately cover what you do – you may see your premium fall.

Increase your excess

The higher your excess, the lower your premiums will be. Just remember that you will have to pay that excess should you make a claim, so don’t set it at an unaffordable level!

For a host more tips, check out Ways to cut your car insurance.

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