US Edition 
James Foxall: Cover all your insurance bases
Thorough online research could cut your premiums by a third, while understanding manufacturers’ new car finance schemes should result in the best deal for you.
The motor insurance industry frequently moans it doesn’t make any money from covering drivers. Its reasoning is that it now pays out so much on personal injury claims that even ever-increasing premiums can’t keep up.
Experts I’ve spoken to reckon you can shave a third off a premium price, however, by shopping around. The easiest way is via aggregator sites. All of them. So invest some time and pump your details into GoCompare, Moneysupermarket, Confused, Tescocompare plus big companies that don’t appear on these sites such as Aviva and Direct Line. By doing this you’ll be all but guaranteed the best-priced cover.
Start the renewal process early. Some insurers will honour a quote given 60 or even 90 days before it’s needed. For women, this could save a few quid because their costs are already beginning to rise ahead of the EU gender directive that comes into effect on December 21 and makes it illegal for men to be charged more than women. Equally, men are likely to see a small drop in premiums so it’s probably not worthwhile getting an early quote.
Consider who’s driving the car. If you have a second driver, the insurer will think there’s likely to be more than one person on board, the driver will take more care, and premiums will fall. While it’s illegal for an older driver to insure a youngster doing the most miles, there’s nothing to stop a young driver naming an older driver on the policy and it’ll likely cut cover cost.
Don’t be afraid to haggle. Drivers who argue over the premium with Admiral, for example, claim to have a 61 per cent success rate.
How to figure out car finance
Acquire, Options, Choices, Elect, Solutions: every manufacturer has a name for its finance scheme. In many cases they’re the same kind of deal, but working out which suits you requires you to know your HPs from your PCPs and your PCHs. So, here’s a whistle-stop glossary.
With hire purchase (HP), the most popular form of finance, there’s no need for a large deposit. You pay in monthly instalments and once you’ve paid the agreed price, plus interest, the car is yours.
Personal contract hire (PCH) is viewed as a hassle-free way to run a car. You don’t buy, you hire and at the end of the agreed term, you hand it back and start a new agreement.
Under personal contract purchase (PCP), the company works out the car’s likely value at the end of the contract. You borrow the difference between today’s price and its minimum guaranteed future value (MGFV, or balloon payment). The loan is repaid with a deposit and monthly instalments. At the end, you can give the keys back, pay the MGFV and keep the car, or use the MGFV as a deposit for a new one.
To compare loan costs, check the APR (annual percentage rate) against the flat rate; APR includes all charges, so the flat rate will initially look better.