How to…

There are many legitimate ways to reduce your car insurance premium. We take a long look at ways to answer the question How do I save money on car insurance, as well as avoiding some of the pitfalls that could leave you with a major headache.

Scams affect all walks of life, and temporary car insurance is no different. You can’t buy a No Claim Discount (NCD) certificate, so if someone offers to sell you one, they’re trying to rip you off. Read all about the Fake NCD Certificate scam, how to spot it, and what to do if you think you’ve been scammed.

If you want to know whether your car, or in fact any car in the UK, is insured you can use the Ask MID website for free. Just enter the reg and you’ll see whether the car is insured or not. It’s worth noting that it can take a few days for details of new policies and changes to policies to appear on MID.

If you want to find out whether a car is taxed or not, the DVLA vehicle checker  website has a free service. Simply enter the reg, confirm the car make and colour, and there you go.

If you’re worried that you might miss your next MOT, the DVLA MOT Reminder website offers a free service for private cars. Simply enter your details, complete the registration process, and off you go.

If you want to find out whether a car can run on E10 petrol or not, the DVLA E10 petrol checker website has a free service. Simply select the car make, and a list of models and their compatibility with E10 petrol will be shown.

There’s no sure-fire way of knowing for certain whether a car has been stolen, but there are some practical steps you can take to reduce the chance of buying a car that has been stolen. The DVLA car checks website offers a series of practical steps designed to give you more confidence that you’re parting with cash for something that you can own with confidence.

If you want to find out the CO2 emissions for a car, the DVLA vehicle checker website has a free service. Simply enter the reg, confirm the car make and colour, and there you go.

If you want to see the MOT history for a car, the DVLA MOT history website has a free service. Simply enter the reg, confirm the car make and colour, and there you go.

If you no longer need to tax your car, you can apply for a refund on your vehicle tax – otherwise known as Vehicle Excise Duty. Just visit the DVLA Vehicle Tax Refund website and follow the instructions.

If you need to register a car as SORN, the DVLA Make a SORN website has a free service. Simply enter the reg, confirm the car make and colour, and there you go.

The car group of a car is often used by car insurance providers when they are calculating the cost of providing cover. A car group is one way of putting the thousands of makes and models of cars into “buckets” – being a reflection of their performance, value, desirability of theft, the cost of repair, and much more. There are various free services, including Car Insurance Groups.

Short term car insurance provides cover while travelling abroad in certain locations. There are restrictions as to what level of cover is provided, and you should check before planning travel and buying insurance. We take a detailed look at what to consider if you want to take your car abroad with short term car insurance.

Ghost brokers often target inexperienced drivers, and those with a poor driving history – luring them in with the prospect of a cheap price. What they’re selling are fake certificates, leaving the target of the scam uninsured, at risk of fines, and seriously out of pocket. Our in-depth article on How to Spot Ghost Brokers will help you spot and avoid this illegal practice.