Martin Lewis reveals how motorists can save on car insurance under lockdown

Martin Lewis specifically pointed out the discounts offered to motorists from car insurance firm Admiral as a way motorists can reduce costs. However, the Money Saving Expert said reducing your estimated mileage and informing insurers of changes could also see costs fall. 

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His comments come a day after Admiral Car insurance were the first to offer refunds with £25 set to be returned to each customer.

Admiral claims the total £110million offer to customers was the equivalent of one month of total income from premiums. 

The money was being handed back to motorists due to a decline in the number of claims made by drivers due to the shutdown restrictions. 

Martin Lewis confirmed other insurance providers had “yet to say” whether they would follow Admiral’s move in offering money off. 

He said: “The Admiral Group has said it’ll give every car and van insurance customer an automatic £25 refund, and while other UK biggies are yet to say if they’ll follow suit there’s plenty of other ways to save while not using the car.”

Martin Lewis recommended drivers reduce their estimated mileage as a simple way to lower costs during the crisis. 

Simply lowering your estimated mileage can have a major positive effect on prices as this lowers your perceived road risk. 

The less you are using a car, the less chance you have to suffer a crash and therefore make a claim.  

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Motorists under lockdown who are not using their vehicles for a daily commute are unlikely to meet their pre-set mileage target and should be able to lower their premiums. 

Martin Lewis said motorists could look at cancelling their car insurance policy and apply for a statutory off-road notification (SORN).

This means motorists will be exempt from paying any car insurance or car tax charges while under the lockdown. 

However, motorists would not be able to use their cars with this in place and breaking the rules could see them issued fines.

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Many car insurance companies have promised to work with individual motorists to offer payment plans for those in financial difficulty. 

Many firms have also agreed to waive cancellation fees and excess charges under some circumstance. 

The Association of British Insurers (ABI)  has urged firms to be fair and not misleading to motorists during the crisis. 

The ABI have confirmed firms under their group will extend cover for key workers and those volunteering against the coronavirus fight. 

This means motorists will not invalidate their cover for driving to a different place of work or breaking some of their current terms and conditions. 

However, some campaigners feel more needs to be done to help motorists struggling during the crisis. 

Freddy Macnanara, founder of Cuvva is pushing for firms to offer a premium holiday split over two months. 

He said this would better reflect the number of journeys made by most vehicle owners under lockdown. 

It comes after warnings were made but several experts that car insurance firms could make £1billion under the lockdown. 

Even a fifty percent reduction in claims due to fewer motorists on the road would lead to bumper profits for many insurers. 

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