Car insurance

When you get a quote, we’ll estimate the market value of your car based on averages of the make, model, and age. If you want a more accurate idea of your car’s value you can use our free car valuation tool.

When you get quotes through our site, you’ll usually see ‘soft searches’ on your credit report. These are nothing to worry about. They’re only visible to you and don’t affect your credit rating. A ‘soft search’ is usually just used to confirm your identity.

The only time you’ll see a ‘hard’ search is if you choose to pay for your car insurance monthly. This is because the insurer needs to check you can cover the payments of the contract, usually over 12 months.

Each year you drive without making a claim on your car insurance, insurers reward you with a year of no-claims bonus (NCB). The more NCB you have, the bigger the discount you get, as you’re seen as lower-risk and less likely to claim in the future. Some insurers might ask you for proof of your NCB - you should be able to get this from your previous or current insurer.

You might be able to drive someone else’s car if you have a comprehensive car insurance policy. Check your certificate of motor insurance which should tell you whether your policy has the Driving Other Cars (DOC) feature. Not all policies offer it.

Even if you have it, it only entitles you to third-party cover on someone else’s car and should only be used in emergencies. If you want to be fully covered for a short time, consider a temporary car insurance policy, or get yourself added as a named driver.

Yes, you can add named drivers to your car insurance policy. To add another driver, you’ll need their:

• Age
• Occupation
• Details of any accidents and claims
• Details of any motoring convictions

Depending on the driver, this might raise or lower your car insurance costs.

It's important to remember that the person who does the bulk of the driving should be listed as the main driver. And any named drivers only use the car occasionally.

In an effort to treat customers fairly, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has created rules that stop insurance companies from penalising loyal customers. This was a practice known as price walking.

The rules state that insurers are required to offer customers who renew their policy a price that's not higher than if they were a new customer buying in the same way. The FCA believes this should save customers £4.2 billion over the next decade.

This doesn't mean that your renewal price is going to be less than last year. A range of factors come into how car insurance prices are calculated, but you shouldn't be penalised by staying with your existing insurer.

But there still might be savings to be had. Even if your price is the same or a bit cheaper than last year, it's always worth shopping around.