Does your car insurance premium feel expensive?
There’s plenty you can do about that, without dropping your cover.
This post ranks ways to reduce your premium, shares what actually works, and explains what sets your premium in the first place.
Let’s begin.
How to lower car insurance
The fastest ways to lower car insurance include comparing quotes annually instead of auto-renewing and bundling policies with one insurer. Raising the voluntary excess, a clean claims history, and a steady credit record bring the premium down too. Security features and the level of cover chosen matter even more.
Some of these tips cost nothing and take one phone call.
Here is the full list, ranked by the difference each one makes.
- Fit security features and park safely
- Choose the right level of cover
- Compare quotes annually, don’t auto-renew
- Raise your voluntary excess
- Bundle your policies with one insurer
- Keep a clean claims history
- Build a strong credit record
- Ask about telematics and low-mileage discounts
- Choose a cheaper car to insure before you buy
- Skip the aftermarket modifications
1. Security features and safe parking that lower your premium
Fitting a tracking device, gear lock, or immobiliser is one of the most effective ways to lower your premium.
- Tracker: Often non-negotiable. Some insurers require one outright for vehicles above a certain value, or for models that appear often on hijacking lists.
- Gear lock or immobiliser: Costs less, and still counts in your favour.
Where you park matters just as much as what’s fitted to the car. A locked garage or an access-controlled estate is a lower risk than an exposed street, and insurers know it. It’s the same theft and hijacking risk the fitted devices address, just behavioural instead of hardware.
This is a smart move either way. SAPS recorded 7,731 vehicles and motorcycles stolen nationally in the first quarter of 2025 alone. Insurers have to price in the risk of theft or hijacking; that’s why this matters so much.
2. Choosing the right level of cover for your car
If your car is paid off, comprehensive cover isn’t automatically your best option. For an older or lower-value vehicle, it can cost more than the cover is actually worth.
Whether it makes sense to switch from comprehensive to third-party cover will depend on your personal situation, the vehicle’s value, and how you use the car. Think about it and do your own math before you decide.
Note, if your car is financed, your finance agreement requires comprehensive cover, not the law itself, but it’s non-negotiable either way.
Comprehensive vs third party cover options:
| Cover level | What it covers | Roughly who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Comprehensive | Your car, plus damage you cause to other people or their property | Financed vehicles (required), newer or higher-value cars |
| Third party, fire and theft | Damage to others, plus your own car if it’s stolen or burnt out | Older cars still worth protecting from theft |
| Third party only | Damage you cause to others only, nothing on your own car | Low-value cars where a payout wouldn’t cover much anyway |
*Based on standard South African policy structures; ask your insurer to confirm exact terms.
3. Compare quotes annually, don’t auto-renew
Letting your policy auto-renew is one of the most reliable ways to overpay. Insurers often quote new customers lower rates than loyal ones. Get quotes from two or three insurers every year, even if you plan to stay.
Pay less each month while paying off your debt so you can cover other expenses.
4. Raise your voluntary excess
A higher voluntary excess brings your monthly premium down. It works because you’re taking on more of the risk yourself if you claim. Just make sure you could actually afford that higher excess if something happened.
5. Bundle your policies with one insurer
Most insurers discount your premium when you cover your car, home, and other assets with them. It’s one of the simplest ways to save without changing how you drive. Ask your insurer directly what bundling would save you.
6. Keep a clean claims history
Every claim pushes your premium up at renewal, even small ones. For minor, affordable repairs, it’s often cheaper long-term to pay out of pocket. Save your claims for the damage that would actually hurt to cover yourself.
7. Build a strong credit record
Insurers use your credit and payment record as part of how they price your risk. On-time payments and manageable debt levels can bring your premium down. It’s one more reason keeping your accounts current pays off.
8. Ask about telematics and low-mileage discounts
Several insurers reward low-mileage driving, up to 20% off around 15,000km a year, sometimes more for much lower mileage. Reporting reduced or work-from-home driving patterns to your insurer can unlock this. It costs nothing to ask what you’d qualify for.
9. Choose a cheaper car to insure before you buy
Practical, locally available models are cheaper to insure than high-performance, imported, or frequently hijacked ones. Parts availability and theft risk both feed directly into your quote. Worth checking before you buy a car, not after.
10. Skip the aftermarket modifications
Modifications like performance upgrades or non-standard parts raise your theft risk and your premium together. Insurers see them as more valuable to thieves and more expensive to repair. Keeping your car standard keeps your premium lower too.
*The calculation is an estimate actual amounts may vary.
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What determines your car insurance premium in South Africa?
Insurers price a car insurance premium based on the driver’s risk profile, the car itself, and how it’s used. Age, driving experience, claims history, and the regular driver all factor in. So does overnight parking location, along with the car’s value, model, and theft risk.
The factors that drive the number:
- Age
- Driving experience
- Claims history
- Who the regular driver is
- Where the car is parked overnight
- The car’s value
- Model
- Theft risk
A few of these overlap with the tips above. Claims history and credit record aren’t just savings tricks. Insurers already weigh both every time they price your policy.
Two more come up constantly. Neither has a simple yes-or-no answer.
Frequently asked questions
Does your car’s colour affect your premium?
South African insurers disagree on whether car colour affects a premium. Some say colour makes no measurable difference at all. Others treat it as a minor factor linked to visibility and repair cost. Darker or unusual colours are the ones most likely to see a small adjustment.
Either way, it’s a small consideration next to your risk profile and your car’s value.
Do new cars really cost more to insure than used ones?
New cars do not automatically cost more to insure than used ones. It comes down to a vehicle’s value and repair cost. How often that model is stolen matters too, not age on its own. Very old cars can cost more again, since parts get scarcer and cover options narrow.
What not to tell your insurance company
⚠️ Never misrepresent your risk profile to get a lower quote. It puts your actual payout at risk later. If an insurer finds out you weren’t upfront when you claim, they can decline to pay out an insurance claim entirely.
Be accurate about who drives the car, where it’s parked, and what it’s used for. A slightly higher premium today is worth far more than a declined claim after an accident.
If an insurer declines your claim, you can lodge a complaint with the short-term insurance ombud.
Final thoughts
Most of what moves your premium costs nothing at all.
A phone call, a portal update, an honest answer about your risk profile, that’s most of this list.
You don’t need to switch insurers to pay less, but it can help. Either way, you need to ask better questions about the cover you need and how you’re protecting your car.
Car insurance is one line on a tighter budget, though.
If you’re trying to reduce your living costs or monthly expenses, and debt is squeezing your finances too, talk to our team at My Debt Hero.
We specialise in helping South Africans manage their debt.
