How can I save on my car insurance?
Several things can help to reduce the cost of your Volkswagen insurance, regardless of your driving history, age or location. Some things you can do are:
- Pay annually rather than monthly
- Add a named driver
- Increase your voluntary excess
- Shop around and compare quotes
- Estimate your mileage accurately
- Improve your car's security
- Build up your no-claims discount
Pay annually rather than monthly. When you pay monthly, insurers add interest to your price which can increase the cost by 16%2 compared to paying annually.
Add a named driver. Having another driver on the policy with a good driving history can reduce your costs, especially if you're a younger driver. With just one driver on a policy, the average premium is £7252. This decreases to £5552 with a named driver. You'll need to make sure you're honest about who the main driver is though. If not, you'll be seen to be 'fronting' which is illegal and will be likely to invalidate your policy.
Increase your voluntary excess if you can afford to cover a higher payment in event of a claim. The higher your overall excess, the lower your insurance cost will generally be. We've found the most popular voluntary excess to be £250 with 62%2 of our customers choosing this.
Shop around and compare quotes to make sure you get the best deal for the cover you need. According to our data, around 26 days before your renewal date is often the cheapest time to buy.2
Estimate your mileage accurately to avoid paying more than you need to. Driving more miles will increase your insurance costs as insurers will see you as higher risk. On average our customers drive 6,621 miles per year.2 If you aren't expecting to drive many miles, you might find a pay as you go policy could be better value.
Improve your car's security by adding features such as a steering wheel lock, car tracker or immobiliser to reduce the chances of it being stolen. Parking habits will also affect your insurance - if you're able to park in a secure garage rather than a dimly lit street, you can reduce the risk to your vehicle.
Build up your no-claims bonus (NCB) each year you don't claim on your insurance to take advantage of insurer discounts based on the number of years you've got. Look out for insurers that offer to protect your NCB. This allows you to make a limited number of no-fault claims before your NCB is affected, although you usually have to pay more for this feature.
2Based on Confused.com data December 2022 - April 2023
What insurance can I get for my Volkswagen?
There are three levels of car insurance you can choose from:
- Third-party
- Third-party, fire and theft
- Comprehensive
The history of Volkswagen
The history of the Volkswagen brand dates back to the 1930s. In May 1937, the Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH was formally established. Thankfully the name was shortened a year later to Volkswagenwerk GmbH and the company established its main plant in Wolfsburg.
At the end of 1945 the British requested Volkswagen to build cars for the UK market. Since then, VW cars have enjoyed a strong presence on UK roads.
In 1938, Volkswagen finalised the designs for the VW Beetle which would go on to become an iconic model. While they have been updated frequently over the years, the enthusiasm to own and drive these cars has not diminished.
The 1970s was a decade of major growth for VW, with the birth of a new generation of Volkswagens such as the Passat, Scirocco, Golf and Polo models.
Volkswagen's co-founder and original designer Ferdinand Porsche would go on to establish the Porsche AG sport car company. The two car manufacturers continued to have a close working relationship, with many Porsche cars using Volkswagen attributes - In 2002 they launched the Porsche Cayenne which shares its entire chassis with the Volkswagen Touareg.
In 2012 Volkswagen purchased 100% of shares in Porsche AG, bringing both businesses under ownership of Volkswagen AG, alongside Bentley, Skoda and other brands that matched VW's classic values.
The VW Group operates 118 production plants in 20 European countries and a further 10 countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. It sells its vehicles in 153 countries.
Volkswagen is today one of the world’s most successful volume car manufacturers, only overtaken by Tesla, Inc. in January 2020.