Car Insurance - Mustard

Some of the insurance companies we work with

If you need car insurance quotes you’ve come to the right place – our comparison platform quickly searches a panel of leading insurers to show you a range of policies, so you can find a deal to suit you.

How can I get cheap car insurance?

You could save hundreds of pounds when you compare quotes across the market; here at mustard.co.uk we search prices from top UK insurance providers and brokers, helping you find the cover you need at a budget to suit you.

See our top tips for saving money on your car insurance below, or take a look at our online guide for more information on how to find the best price for you.

Pay upfront
Build your no-claims bonus
Choose a car in a low insurance group
Keep your car secure
Raise your excess
Shop Around
Avoid modifications
Consider the cover you need
Drive fewer miles

If you’re a young driver, you could save money on your car insurance by considering a telematics policy, taking an advanced driving course or adding a named driver to your policy.

Compare cheap car insurance quotes now.

Do you need a renewal quote?

Don’t auto renew, in other words, don’t allow your current car insurance policy to automatically renew because you might not be getting the best deal.

Don’t leave it until a few days before your car insurance anniversary to start looking for a good deal, data shows you’ll get cheaper insurance quotes around 3 weeks before your renewal date. We know it’s a drag hunting for the best policy options each year, but using a price comparison website like mustard.co.uk will save you lots of time, as we’ll search for quotes on your behalf. Simply complete our online form, pop in your car registration and review the range of deals on offer. Not only that, we’ll automatically search for insurance quotes next year and remind you with plenty of time in hand to organise your insurance, taking advantage of the most competitive prices available.

Do you need an insurance quote for a new car?

The cost of your car insurance is based on many factors, which build up a risk profile for the insurer. Your age and address you can’t change, but there are still several ways to reduce the amount you pay for your insurance premium.

Take an annual policy and pay for it in one go to avoid interest charges associated with monthly installments

Be accurate with details such as mileage. Work out your annual mileage to ensure you’re getting a quote for what you actually need.

Choose your policy carefully, considering what add-ons you really need. For example, sometimes it’s cheaper to buy breakdown cover or windscreen protection separately to your car insurance policy. Other add-ons like No Claims Bonus protection might be worth paying for, especially if you’ve built up a large No Claims Discount from years of careful driving.

Choosing a car in a lower insurance group. Before buying a new car, you can calculate car insurance costs quickly and easily for different makes and models. Every car is put into an insurance group from 1 to 50, with 1 being the cheapest to insure.

Why compare car insurance quotes with us?

Insurers will assess risk differently, so comparing the market is the best way to find great insurance cover that suits your needs. Getting a quote online with mustard takes around 5 minutes, why not start right away and see if you can save!

Not everybody has the same car or the same needs

That’s why mustard.co.uk has lots of insurance providers on our panel, so we can search for policies to suit any motorist, no matter what their circumstances.

View all of our brokers

Tailored for you

We want to help everyone find the cheapest car insurance they can. That’s why all of our quotes are as individual as you are.

What are the types of car insurance?

Car insurance covers the cost of damage if you’re involved in an accident. Depending on the level of cover you choose, your policy will also compensate you if your car is stolen, vandalised or damaged by fire. Whatever you drive, whether it be a saloon, sports car, 4×4 or hatchback, if you drive a car on UK roads, you’ll need car insurance by law. Here’s a useful breakdown of the types of insurance you can buy:

Comprehensive

Comprehensive insurance covers you for damage caused to other drivers, road users or property and, importantly, to your own car. It also allows you to claim on accidents where fault cannot be proven.

Third Party Fire and Theft

Third Party Fire and Theft covers you in the event of causing damage to another motorist’s car, van or motorbike but it would not cover damage to your vehicle. It allows you to claim for damage caused to your car after an attempted theft or if your car is stolen and it also covers you for fire damage to your car.

Third party only

Third party only is the minimum legal requirement for car insurance in the UK and it covers you for damage or injury to other road users whilst driving. If an accident is your fault you won’t be able to make a claim for damages to your car, and your insurance won’t cover your injuries either.

Policies can offer so much more, providing you with financial assistance when you need it most. For example, legal expenses cover can pay for professional advice if you decide to make a claim against someone. Other options like a courtesy car and windscreen cover can also help make life easier by getting you back on the road as soon as possible. Whatever policy you choose, make sure you get the best of what’s on offer and compare car insurance right here.

What details do I need to get a quote

When you search for car insurance, you’ll need to answer quite a lot of questions. Luckily it only takes around 5 mins to complete our quote form online, then we’ll search the deals available and save the information for you to review and compare. Make sure you have the following information on hand:

How old you are
What your job is
Where you live and where you keep your car overnight
What you use your car for
Your annual mileage
Your driving licence number
Whether your car has any modifications.

Your answers can have an impact on the price of your premium so it’s vital to answer them as accurately as you can.

If you’re switching insurers, you may also need to show your new insurer evidence of your claims history if you’re able to carry your no claims bonus over.

Car insurance advice and FAQs

How can I reduce the cost of my car insurance?

Taking the time to compare car insurance quotes really is the best way to ensure you don’t pay any more than you need to. That said, you can help shave off a little more by:

Increasing your voluntary excess – this can help lower the overall cost of your insurance premium. But remember, you’ll need to pay it before your claim can go ahead so it should still be an amount you can afford.
Choosing your car carefully – powerful cars generally cost more to insure because they can be more expensive to fix and a temptation to thieves.
Adding a named driver – having a more experienced driver named on your policy can help lower premiums.
Being accurate about mileage – overestimating mileage can push up your premium (the more miles you cover the greater the risk of an accident) so it helps to be as accurate as possible. If you rarely drive your car, short-term car insurance may be more suitable for you.
Building up a no claims bonus – every year you go without making a claim gives you a discount off your premium. After a few years, this could be as much as 60% off your car insurance so think carefully before claiming for minor issues like scratched paintwork.
Keeping your car secure – if you’re able to keep your car in a locked garage it could be reflected in a lower premium.
Taking out a telematics policy – also known as black box insurance, this monitors how you drive and sends the information back to your insurer. Abiding by traffic rules and following speed limits could help you cut the cost of insurance.

How do I check if my car is insured?

Thankfully, it is often very easy to find out whether your car is covered. If a search of your email inbox has proven unsuccessful, your old bank statements should reveal any regular or one-off payments to your insurance provider.

One of the easiest ways to check if your car is insured is via Ask MID (motor insurance database). MID allows you to type in your car number plate and shows you whether or not your car is covered by insurance. Learn more here.

Need to know who you are insured with? MID is unable to show you who your insurance provider is, but a downloadable form and submission request is available for a fee in order to retrieve your car insurance history. For more information on how to find out who you are insured with, you can visit our guide here.

Who is my car insured with?

Insuring your car annually means it’s all too easy to forget who your car’s insured with – and even if it’s insured at all.

Luckily, it’s easy to find out if your car’s insured in the first place by checking the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) askMID website. It’s a record of every car that’s been insured in the UK so if you’re covered, your car will be listed.

If you’re satisfied you’ve got cover but just can’t remember who with, then you’ll need to dig a bit further and you could try:

Checking bank or credit card statements to see if the transaction is listed.
Sorting through emails for any correspondence from your insurer.

Asking the MIB for your information but you’ll need to fill in a data request form and you may have to pay a small fee.

What year is my car?

If you need to know how old your car is, you can take a look at the two numbers after the area code. The table below shows age markers and their corresponding years (handy to know if you’re after a used car of a particular age). You can use our very easy car reg guide here.

Every year, two new age markers are introduced – once in March and the second in September. The March age indicator is easy to remember because it’s the same number as the calendar year – for instance, an ‘18’ reg plate would mean the car was registered in the first part of 2018. However, the September number is always 50 plus the year number – for example, a car registered in October 2018 would have an age indicator of ‘68’ (50+18).

If we look at an example – LD20 XCL:

The first two letters (LD) show the area the car was registered (London)
The second two digits (20) are age markers
The third set of digits are randomly generated

Number plates released in March make it easy to work out how old your car is because the second two digits are the same as the year itself. Plates released in September take the year plus 50. So, looking now and a little bit ahead, you’ll see:

Cars registered between March and August 2020: 20 plate (LD20 XCL)
Cars registered between September 2020 and February 2021: 70 plate (the year ‘20’ plus ‘50’) in our example this would give you a number plate of LD70 XCL
Cars registered between March and August 2021: 21 plate (LD21 XCL)
Cars registered between September 2021 and February 2022: 71 plate (LD71 XCL).

If your car’s a classic, it probably uses the older system of letter prefixes and suffixes to show age. You can find out more in our guide to car reg years.

What are the cheapest cars to insure?

All cars in the UK belong to one of 50 car insurance groups with group one cars being the cheapest to insure and 50 being the most expensive.

Which group a car belongs to depends on a number of reasons including:

Performance
How much it costs to buy
How much parts cost
How long it takes to fix
Safety and security features.

Based on this, powerful cars that are expensive to buy and expensive to fix will cost more to insure than cars with small engines and cheap parts. Newer cars also tend to be more expensive to insure, especially if they have lots of sophisticated tech as this can be costly to repair.

Modifications that aren’t security related can also have an impact and can push up premiums – for instance, if you’ve changed the paintwork or lowered the suspension. With all this in mind, if you’re specifically after a new or used car that attracts cheap car insurance, it’s well worth taking a look at the insurance group it’s in.

Who is the cheapest car insurance provider in the UK?

Car insurance is all about risk and working out what the chances of a claim being made are. It means the cost of cover can vary significantly depending on your own circumstances which is why it’s so important to compare car insurance.

One of the many benefits of using a comparison site like mustard.co.uk, is that you only need to tell us what you need once. From there, we’ll bring you a range of car insurance quotes from leading UK based providers so that you can choose a policy that fits your needs and your budget.

What is excess in car insurance?

Almost all car insurance policies come with an excess. It’s an amount you need to pay towards a claim so that it can go ahead. For example, if you made a claim for £1000 but your excess was £200, you’d pay the £200 while your insurer paid £800.

There are two types of excess you need to look out for:

Compulsory excess – this amount is set by the insurer and can’t be changed.
Voluntary excess – this amount is agreed between you and your insurer.

Even if you’re involved in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you might still need to pay your excess but you should get it back when the claim’s been settled. If the other driver isn’t insured, your provider may offer to waive your excess but this will be at their discretion.

How much is car insurance?

The cost of car insurance can vary depending on a number of factors. When calculating your car insurance cost, insurance providers will consider many things including your annual mileage, the make and model of your vehicle and how long you have been driving.

According to the ABI in July 2020, the average fully comprehensive car insurance premium in the UK is quoted at £460 – subject to your individual circumstances and the features of your level of cover. In order to get the best cheap car insurance, it is always recommended that you use a price comparison site – just like mustard.co.uk. You can see more information on how your car insurance is calculated here.

What documents will I need on-hand to compare car insurance?

When you search for car insurance, you’ll need to answer questions like:

How old you are
What your job is
Where you live and where you keep your car overnight
What you use your car for
Whether your car has any modifications.

It might be a lot of questions but the answers you give can have an impact on the price of your premium so it’s vital to answer them as accurately as you can.

If you’re switching insurers, you may also need to show your new insurer evidence of your claims history if you’re able to carry your no claims bonus over.

What is car insurance?

Whatever you drive, whether it be a saloon, sports car, 4×4 or hatchback, if you drive a car on UK roads, you’ll need car insurance by law. Policies can offer so much more, providing you with financial assistance when you need it most. For example, legal expenses cover can pay for professional advice if you decide to make a claim against someone. Other options like a courtesy car and windscreen cover can also help make life easier by getting you back on the road as soon as possible.

Whatever policy you choose, make sure you get the best of what’s on offer and compare car insurance right here.