By ROB HULL
Car insurance is far from cheap right now.
According to Confused.com's latest index - based on quotes given to drivers rather than prices paid - the average cost of motor premiums in the opening three months of the year tallied at £777.
That's a whopping 41 per cent higher than three years ago, while for the youngest motorists, aged 17, the average annual policy is an eye-watering £2,250.
Faced with such high costs, it's understandable that motorists across the country will be trying various methods to save money on car insurance premiums.
However, plenty of corner-cutting tactics - which might appear harmless - threaten to land drivers in hot waters, potentially invalidate their cover and leave them legally and financially responsible if they're involved in a crash.
And there are some errors that can be completely innocent but also see claims rejected by insurers.
This is Money has teamed up with Auto Express to reveal seven motor insurance mistakes drivers should avoid making.
Motorists can easily be confused by what stipulates 'commuting' and 'business' use when running a car insurance quote. Knowing the difference is incredibly important...
When running car insurance quotes, one of the questions providers will ask that can have the greatest financial impact is the 'class of use' you need to be covered for.
There's three: social, domestic and pleasure; commuting; or business.
Social-only is by far the cheapest, with the addition of commuting increasing quotes by around 42 per cent - and business even more, according to analysis by comparison website Quotezone.
If you use your car to commute at all, then you need to be insured to do that.
Some insurers have been know to take a very hard line on this and even claim that occasionally using a car to drive to a station may contravene insurance.
It might be tempting to fib about not using your car to get to work, but if you have an accident or need to make a claim then you could find yourself left high and dry.
It's even possible that if you were pulled over by police for any reason and you're wearing a high-vis jacket, employee branded clothes or your office suit and discovered to not be properly insured, you'd be bang to rights.
Motorists can also easily be confused by what stipulates 'commuting' and 'business' use - and how the two differ.
'Driving your car to work without the correct class-of-use essentially leaves you without sufficient cover,' explains Tom Jervis, consumer expert at Auto Express.
‘For instance, commuting insurance will not cover driving to a meeting during your work hours – this would require business cover for your car.'
There may also an issue when it comes to selling items online.
'Anyone who frequently drops off eBay and Facebook Marketplace parcels might be unaware that they could be invalidating their cover,' Tom says,
'Using your car once now and again is fine, but doing so too frequently can be deemed as business travel, given you’ll be making money from transactions.'
While many drivers might think only performance upgrades need to be shared with insurers, even those for practical use - like a towbar - should be raised
Failing to notify your insurer of modifications to your vehicle is a sure-fire way of invalidating your motor policy.
However, many drivers believe they only need to inform their provider if it's a performance upgrade, such as bigger wheels, tuning to the engine or adding a bodykit and huge rear spoiler.
However, minor additions to your motor - even those for practical use - need to be ran past your insurer.
This includes adding a towbar.
While this might seem relatively arbitrary, a towbar is a modification that needs to be raised with an insurer, as we revealed last year.
An Auto Express reader insured by Flow (owned by Allianz) had a claim refused because he hadn't declared his car had a towbar installed. His defense was that the comparison website he used when searching for the best quote online - MoneySuperMarket - didn’t clearly list a towbar as one of the modifications they needed to mention.
After a nine-month dispute, the Ombudsman eventually sided with insurer, leaving the driver facing huge personal costs.
'This case shows that even small changes like fitting a towbar can invalidate your policy if not disclosed.
'If in doubt, our message is it's always better to be sure by asking than having to face serious consequences,' Tom says.
Car insurance bills have rocketed in recent years, so comparing rival policies to find the best deal is vital.
Many drivers have discovered renewal quotes have shot up by hundreds of pounds, but searching for better deals on comparison sites can deliver much keener rates.
It takes minutes to compare car insurance, but that relatively quick job can really pay off.
While drivers who pay for their motor cover annually are unlikely to fall foul of this mistake, those who spread the cost of premiums across monthly payments are more susceptible to this simple error.
A failed insurance payment for any reason, even when you believe you've paid, will invalidate the policy.
Drivers should always check the amount has come out of their bank account when scheduled to do so.
4. 'Fronting' young drivers to save money
'Fronting' is a long-employed tactic by young drivers facing huge insurance premiums due to the risk connotations linked to their age and inexperience on the road.
It inaming an another motorists - usually one who is older, with years of driving under their belt and no endorsements - as the primary policy holder and the younger driver of the car as a secondary user but the latter is the one usually behind the wheel.
This is illegal as it constitutes insurance fraud.
That means being caught fronting can have major consequences; if the police stop a driver with fronted car insurance, they face the same consequences as any other uninsured motorists.
At the extreme end, this includes having their car seized and possibly crushed, as well as facing court where they could get a driving ban and an unlimited fine. Receiving a criminal conviction could also impact job prospects.
And if an insurer has clear evidence of fronting, those responsible can be added to the Insurance Fraud Register accessible to insurers and therefore making it very difficult for the individuals to take out a policy in the future.
But there is a way new drivers can cut their insurance costs by having a family member with a clean recorded named on their policy.
Tom says: 'Adding a trusted low-risk driver in your close family as a secondary driver onto your policy can bring the price down - albeit, not as much as fronting - and it does mean you won’t invalidate your insurance, which is the most important thing.'
Motorists need to make their insurer aware if they have fitted a private number plate to their vehicle
The This is Money Motoring Club is designed to make car ownership cheaper and simpler for This is Money and MailOnline readers.
Powered by MotorEasy it's the place to keep on top of tax, MOTs and servicing - and manage important documents and receipts that keep your car’s value.
You can also save money on maintenance and repairs.
All new members will receive a one-off gift of £20 in reward vouchers to spend.
You can use this for a raft of motoring discounts, including getting £20 off an MOT with one of MotorEasy's listed providers.
Personalised number plates are big business in the UK.
The private plate market is estimated to be worth around £2billion, as drivers snap up their desired combinations of letter and numbers, with the DVLA releasing new plates biannually when age identifiers are listed in March and September.
While there's plenty of paperwork - and costs - involved when swapping over plates, one logistical requirement that can't be overlooked is notifying your insurer that the registration number of your car has changed.
Not doing so could invalidate your policy.
'All that’s needed is a quick phone call to your insurer – this can also be done online – with you likely only needing to pay for any administrative fees that come from tweaking any details, if anything at all,' Tom say.
And it's worth considering that some insurers might consider the addition of a private plate a greater risk worthy of a price increase. It can be deemed that your car appears more valuable or has an increased likelihood of being targeted by criminals and vandals, potentially leading to a small premium hike in some cases.
Some drivers who often park overnight away from their own residence - either to stay with partners or sick family members - could risk receiving a lower payout for a claim
Parking can be a huge problem for many drivers, indeed for those without off-street access, such as a driveway or designated bay in a private car park.
Insurers don't expect your car to always be parked where you say it is usually overnight, you are allowed to go away.
But lying about where your vehicle is most commonly kept - especially overnight - to reduce the cost of premiums is a dangerous move, as insurers can easily check your postcode to investigate if you have a drive at the property.
That said, some drivers can be caught in a difficult scenario where they're commonly parking away from their place of residence in the evenings.
For instance, those who get into new relationships with a partner might commonly spend the night at their address, which could mean instead of keeping their motor on their own driveway they often park on the road miles away.
The same can be said for people who increase the care support they provide to family members who suffer illness, mobility issues or are getting older, typically resulting in more time spent at their address than the policyholder's own.
If at the point of claim it is proven that damage had been sustained - or the vehicle stolen - at a location other than the one listed on the insurance documentation and that the policyholder regularly parks there, an insurer might only apply a proportional settlement to any payment.
It's also worth noting that the most secure parking option might not always be the cheapest.
According to a report by GoCompare in 2024, listing a garage as the main parking site for your vehicle might cost you more that leaving it outside on the driveway.
According to the data, the average cost of policies for cars which are stored in a garage overnight is £54 more expensive than the average for cars parked on a driveway.
If you've recently been awarded a promotion and a change of job title - or have moved into a completely different field of employment - you need to notify your insurer.
Occupation title and type are major factors insurers consider when calculating risk profiles for premiums.
Failing to tell your insurer of these changes can invalidate your cover.
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