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  So you've just decided to buy a nice shiny new car to replace your old banger. It is costing more than you wanted to pay and you've had to stretch your finances a little but hey, you're worth it aren't you. All you have to do now is insure it -- and this is where the shocks begin!

Yes, car insurance can be very expensive and it's not going to get any cheaper in the near future either. There are a lot of ways though of lowering your premiums considerably and here are a few that could save you a lot of money in exchange for the expenditure of just a little of your time.

Firstly; forget about going to your local insurance broker. They will be charging a hefty commission on top of any insurance policy that you buy through them, and why not, they have overheads and staff to pay -- but that is not your problem, and now that you are on the Internet you don't need them any more and you can deal directly with the insurance companies!

Before you even start searching for the right policy however, take a careful look at what you need it to include, and just as importantly, what you do not. Some policies, for instance, include cover for travelling within Europe; if you never intend to drive outside of the UK then this is a waste of time and, more importantly, your money. Similarly, a number of insurers include breakdown cover as part of their standard policy, but if you are already a member of the AA or RAC you don't need these. You may drive infrequently, and for short distances, so why should you pay the same amount of money as someone who could possibly drive 50,000 miles a year, when there are policies which will allow you a large discount if you are only a low mileage driver. You're over 50 perhaps? Why subsidise teenage tearaways who have multiple accidents as a matter of routine, when there are insurance companies that insure only over 50s and where you can benefit from the lower premiums that are charged to that age range.

Insurance companies will be interested in just how secure your car is. If you fit an approved alarm and immobiliser, many of them will give you a reduction for this. If you have a drive or garage, make sure that this is where the car is parked every night, and not out on the street; again this could qualify you for a substantial premium reduction. If you are very confident of your driving ability you may wish to voluntarily pay a much larger excess in the event of an accident, however unlikely this may be; insurance companies recognize that the driver who volunteers to pay a larger excess is much more likely to be a safe and careful driver and therefore a much better risk and deserving of a lower premium.

Finally, look around online and compare a number of prices. Having said that, please do not fall into the trap of automatically buying the cheapest policy available, but check out and ensure that the policy fully covers you for all the risks that you feel are appropriate. It is a completely false economy to buy cheap insurance only to find that the insurer refuses to pay out on a claim in the future because the circumstances simply were not covered by the policy, or are not covered for a sufficiently large sum.