You have not reversed the car into the house, you have not been snapped by a speed camera and you have not been in an accident.

Another year of no-claims discount notched up, but still your insurance renewal quote has gone up.

Report after report tells us that premiums have risen at record rates, with personal injury claims and fraud blamed for the seemingly unstoppable increases.

One study, by Consumer Intelligence, says the average bill rose 19.6% through 2009 to £564.69.

It says young motorists aged between 17 and 24 saw their premiums leap 24.9% to an average of £1,275.

Unless you’ve already taken a master class in cutting your premiums, the chances are you’ll be able to save a packet.
You will be able to guess some of the advice already, but What Car? also has some more surprising tactics for saving cash.

The most basic tip of all has to come first, however - shop around, shop around, shop around.

Many businesses rely on the inertia of customers to turn a tidy profit, so do not let them.