WE all know that age, gender and the type of motor you drive can all push up your insurance premium.
But we can reveal that your job could also be adding a whacking £86 a year to your car insurance bill.
Car insurance premiums vary based on your job role[/caption]
The Sun Money team took the 50 most common jobs and assessed how much they can affect your car insurance premium, with startling results.
To test this, we created a fictional 32-year-old male driver of a Volkswagen Polo car, living in Walthamstow, east London, and looked at how much he would be quoted for an annual policy on MoneySuperMarket, changing his profession every time but keeping all other details the same.
Our research found you could be offered a quote up to 34% more expensive – adding up to £86 – just depending on your job.
Outrageously, we found that traditionally working class jobs often come with higher insurance premiums, while white-collar managerial roles – which ironically usually come with higher salaries – had sweeter deals.
Nurses and health care assistants were all quoted £339 – the highest premium in our survey.
While business analysts, IT managers and consultants and software engineers were offered the much more affordable £253.
But how does YOUR profession fare? Use our tool below to find out how much extra you could be paying based on your profession.
We spoke to Kara Gammell, car insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, and asked her to shed some light on the discrepancies.
She said: “Your job title can also be a factor in how much your car insurance costs.
“Insurers use historical claims data to predict future risks and adjust premiums based on the likelihood of claims associated with specific jobs.
“For example, if ‘scaffolder’ frequently appears in claims, premiums for scaffolders will be higher.”
Some jobs may be more likely to commute to work and those that spend more time on the road will pay more for car insurance as they are more at risk.
Trick to getting lower quotes – and it’s completely legal
Reading all this, it could be tempting to fib about your job – but lying about your job on your insurance could invalidate your premium, so give that one a miss.
However, there is one trick you can use to lower your costs.
Kara explained: “You might be able to lower your premium by selecting an accurate but less risky job title from the insurer’s list, such as ‘caterer’ instead of ‘chef’.
“However, it’s essential to be honest. Providing false information can lead to claim denial or accusations of insurance fraud.”
If you’ve got more than one job, make sure to include all of them in the application process too, Kara said.
Notify your insurer if your job changes, you stop working or retire as well, as this can affect your coverage.
“Retired individuals often pay less due to fewer claims, while unemployed individuals may face higher premiums due to increased driving and potentially lower vehicle maintenance,” Kara said.
How to cut the cost of your car insurance
DO you want to cut your car insurance costs? Money expert Tom Banks, from comparison site Go Compare shares three tips.
Be accurate about mileage
Look at your mileage for previous years so you can estimate your upcoming usage as much as possible and get the most accurate premium.
Make your car more secure
Decreasing the security risk of your car will mean you are less likely to be targeted by thieves.
You can buy steering wheel locks, alarms or even wheel clamps.
You can pick up steering wheel locks from as little as £20 online, car alarms from £20 and wheel clamps for around £35.
Avoid making modifications
This will make your vehicle more attractive to thieves.
It will also make your car or van more expensive to repair which could lead to a higher premium quote.
The good news – we’re all paying less
In better news, car insurance prices have fallen by £221 a year, according to data from Compare the Market.
It found a 23% drop to £729 in December 2024 compared to £950 in December 2023.
This is the cheapest average monthly premium since May 2023, when a driver was paying £718.
The drop is partly due to slowing inflation, which will come as a relief to Brits hard-pressed by the cost of living crisis.
‘I slashed my car insurance bill by £250 with little-known trick’
SUBTLY tweaking your job title is just one way of reducing your car insurance premium…
Savvy mum Kate Tynan, 44, revealed how she slashed costs by £250 after buying a black box.
The telematics device, which is usually free but some insurance firms may charge for installation, monitors your driving habits and sends them to your insurance company.
If they’re good, you’re rewarded with a lower premium as you’re deemed lower risk.
But beware, drive badly and you could end up forking out more than you were before.
Kate, who lives in Stockport with her business analyst husband Ben Tynan, 46, and two kids Noah, 11 and Martha, nine, told The Sun: “Like a lot of people, I thought black box policies were just for kids.
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw the quote and even asked the broker if they were sure it was right.
“I ended up saving £250 and we put the extra cash towards our half-term holiday in Cornwall.”
