Saving on your insurance costs

Shopping around for cheaper insurance may not be as exciting as a little retail therapy, but you could end up saving enough money to fund your next buying extravaganza. It's easy to buy insurance on the Internet - car , home , health and travel policies are all easily compared and buying them online can save hundreds of pounds.

First and foremost, shop around. The price of all cover can vary massively so don't accept the first insurance quote that comes your way. By obtaining several quotes you can compare prices and ensure you are getting cover that meets your exact requirements. When changing policies always ensure you are buying like-for-like or you may discover you do not have the same level of cover when you come to claim.

There are a number of tricks you can employ that will reduce the cost of your motor insurance such as adding another driver only when they need to use the car. And the fewer the miles the car covers the greater the saving on your premiums. So if your personal circumstances change - you take a sabbatical or go on maternity leave for example - then let your insurer know of any reduction in mileage. It's also worth considering car-sharing, which can reduce mileage significantly.

Statistics prove that women are safer drivers than men so reduce premiums by choosing an insurer for the female driver. Similarly, if you are over 50, check out specialist insurers that offer a better deal to older, more experienced drivers.

When it comes to travel insurance you will do well to avoid travel agents' own insurance packages as they can be very costly. There are a number of specialist insurers that offer policies tailor-made to your needs. For example, Select Travel Insurance, Flexi Cover Direct and Saga offer great insurance packages for the over 65s while Endsleigh offer a number of competitive deals on gap-year and back-packers insurance.

Click here for a complete list of low cost insurers