According to the latest data, car insurance has overtaken fuel prices as the biggest concern for motorists. And with good reason: as Completecar.ie discovered late last year insurance premiums are on the rise while the drop in crude oil prices mean car owners are paying less at the pumps.

So how do you save on car insurance costs?

1 Shop around
Irish consumers are typically averse to switching service providers and while we are more likely to switch car insurance provider than we are our banks the uptake is still relatively low. However, the easiest way to save money on your premiums is to shop around. You don't even need to change provider, just get some quotes from other companies and use these against your current insurer. If they want to keep your business they will at least match the lower quote and at worst you cut strings and go elsewhere.

2 Downgrade your cover
Are you paying for fully comprehensive insurance on your ten-year-old runabout? With the average age of the Irish fleet currently standing at 8.83 years, it's likely that you are, but you could save an awful lot by downgrading to third party, fire and theft cover. By all means go the whole hog on a new (or nearly new) car but for an old car that is just used for trips to the shops or commuting to work fully comprehensive cover is possibly overkill.

3 Your mileage
If you do only use your car for trips to the shop or for getting to and from work tell your insurer. The less time you spend on the road the lower your chance of an accident and, ergo, the lower your premium. There is no point paying cover for an annual distance of 30,000km if you only do 12,000km.

4 Raise your excess
Every insurance policy has an excess - the amount of costs you have to cover before the insurance company will pay out. This excess is usually quite low but if you have been claims free for years, it may be worth considering taking on a higher excess. The less the insurance company has to cover the lower the premium.

5 Know your car's value
Pop quiz. If your car were stolen tomorrow how much would it cost your insurer to replace it? Whatever you answered, it is probably lower. When applying for insurance most motorists quote what they paid for the car or what they think it is worth rather than actually checking. And when shopping around for a car they already own they forget about depreciation. The car on your driveway may have cost you €20,000 three years ago but it is not worth €20,000 now.

6 Multi-insurance discounts
Is your house insured with the same company as your car? Did that insurer give you a discount for the two policies? They should have. Ok there is nothing written in law that says they have to but most do - it's more business for them - so ask about multi-insurance discounts and while you are at it ask what difference it would make adding your spouse to your policy. That can have a big effect on premiums.

7 Shop online
When you ring up an insurer the person on the end of the phone is effectively being paid to fill out a form on your behalf. When you do it yourself online you are cutting out that middleman. Insurers offer as much as 15 per cent off for taking out a policy online.

8 Points mean Euros
Most insurers will 'allow' four penalty points before they starting adding the zeros to your renewal quote. Anything above that and the sky is the limit - the more penalty points the higher your premium. Play by the rules (of the road) and you'll be fine.