How your job affects your car insurance

You have to state your employment status and job when you take out car insurance and the cost of your cover will be affected by your occupation.

Car insurers collect data about past claims and use it to predict how likely it is that people in different occupations will make a claim in future.

If the insurer judges your job to be higher risk than another one, you’ll pay more.

Cheapest occupations for car insurance

We checked which occupations were paying the most and least for insurance. We found that those who are retired enjoyed some of the lowest premiums – this is likely because retirees tend have more years of driving experience, which makes them less of a risk.

They're also less likely to be battling the daily commute, which insurers see as riskier time to be on the road. Some insurers actually ask you about peak-time driving when you get a quote.

Those in certain medial and research professions also got some of the cheapest quotes, with occupational therapists and research scientists making the top three cheapest professions to insure.

Most expensive occupations for car insurance

At the other end of the scale, fast food delivery drivers had the most expensive quotes, which isn't really surprising given the amount of time they spend on the road.

Those with other car-related careers also tend to pay more. Taxi drivers and car salespeople all feature in the top 20 most expensive occupations for car insurance.

While you might expect high insurance premiums for some of these occupations, it seems surprising that librarians have the third most expensive premiums.

But your car insurance isn’t just tied to your job. GoCompare founder and CEO, Lee Griffin said:

“With many factors such as the type of insurance cover, age, previous claims and vehicle value, premiums can fluctuate depending on the person, and they need an insurance policy tailored to their needs."

“It's understandable that delivery drivers have higher premiums because of the amount of time spent in their vehicles, but having some occupations, such as librarians among the most expensive is surprising, as they spend significantly less time in their vehicles and on the road."

“Drivers need to make sure that, above all else, they're safe drivers on the road."

Can I change my job title to make my insurance cheaper?

No, you shouldn’t lie when you describe your job to your insurer.

Putting down the wrong job could mean you get cheaper insurance quotes, but it’s pointless because your insurance would be invalid.

But when you get a quote, you have to choose from a pre-defined list and you might find that several job titles accurately describe what you do for a living – for example, ‘mechanic’ and ‘vehicle technician’.

If that applies to you, try running quotes for other jobs on the list that are also an accurate description of your occupation. You might find some are cheaper than others.

Insuring your car for commuting to work

It’s not just the nature of your job that affects your car insurance price – if you use your car to get to work and back or you use it for business, that’ll affect the cost of your insurance too.

Insurers split car usage into three types: social use, social and commuting, and business.

If you buy insurance for ‘social use’, you’re saying you don’t use your car to travel to and from work, or for any other business use.

If you commute to work, even only very occasionally, you must choose ‘social and commuting’ or you won’t be covered if you need to claim.

But if you don’t use your car to commute ever, make sure you choose social cover only so you don’t pay for cover you don’t need.

If you use your car in the line of business, you’ll also need to specify what category of business use you need cover for.

Those who drive to work or at work are likely to spend more time on the road, particularly at peak times, so insurers deem them more likely to have an accident – and charge more accordingly.