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Why is my car insurance up for renewal after ten months?

Will Thomas, head of motor at Confused.com, takes on a customer car insurance query.

Question:  My car insurance has come up for renewal after just 10 months – I thought I’d signed up for a year. What’s happened?

Answer: A number of companies allow drivers to sign up for a 10-month policy, at the end of which they qualify for a full year’s no-claims bonus.

These bonus-accelerator policies are designed to help motorists who’ve recently made claims, or who have only recently started driving.

For example, by taking out three consecutive accelerator policies, you’d build up a three-year no claims bonus in just two-and-a-half years.

Can I get a car insurance refund while I wait for a replacement car?

Will Thomas, head of motor at Confused.com, takes on a customer car insurance query.

Question:  My car has been written off in an accident. The insurance company is going to pay out, but I’m not going to buy a replacement for a while. Can I get a refund of my premiums for the rest of the year?

 Answer: You can cancel your insurance policy, but it is likely that your provider will charge you an administrative fee for doing so: this is likely to be in the region of £20 to £50, but all insurers differ. Make sure this fee isn’t greater than the refund you’re likely to get. You can read more on this topic in our article ‘Make changes to your car insurance for free.’

How can young drivers cut the cost of car insurance?

Will Thomas, head of motor at Confused.com, takes on a customer car insurance query.

Question: My 19-year-old son has been quoted more than £1,500 for car insurance: we can’t afford anything like that. Is there anything we can do to make car cover (much) more affordable?

Answer: There are a few things that can bring the price down to some degree: he could opt for a higher excess, for example, or drive less miles annually.

But you could also consider insuring him on your own vehicle as a named driver for a year or two, if you don’t mind sharing the car (while selling his). You would have to remain the main driver, ie the person who uses the car most.

This would probably make your combined insurance bill a lot less, and allow him to build up his own no-claims bonus. For more tips on keeping car insurance costs down read our article ‘How young drivers can keep car insurance costs down.’