The UK's 34 million motorists are paying almost £2 billion a year more than necessary on annual motor insurance premiums by not shopping around for cover online, according to swiftcover car insurance.

Swiftcover was found to have quoted cheaper premiums more often than any other insurer on the price comparison website moneysupermarket.com in 2007. Motorists could save hundreds of pounds on their renewal premiums by simply spending thirty minutes online comparing premiums from multiple insurers using a price comparison site like moneysupermarket, gocompare or comparethemarket.

Marketing Director at Swiftcover.com, Tina Shortle commented... "With household bills rising ever higher, it seems crazy that UK consumers should willingly waste over £1.9 billion by sticking with the same old insurer year after year. Smart consumers know that an online insurance company is likely to be cheaper because it doesn't have to pay hundreds of call centre staff and can pass on the savings to its customers."

Top Tips for Saving Money on Car Insurance

In addition to shopping around at renewal time, drivers can lower their premiums even more by trying some or all of these steps...

1. Choose a car from a lower insurance group. All cars have an insurance rating of 1-20 given by the Association of British Insurers. The more expensive and powerful the car is the higher it's rating will be. A group 1 car would be a very small and cheap model and a group 20 car would be a powerful or expensive model.
2. Drive a smaller car. If your car is worth £5,000 rather than £50,000, it will cost your insurer ten times less to replace if it is stolen or written off. Reducing the risk to the insurer has the same effect on your premiums.
3. Don't pay for policy features you won't use. For example, many policies automatically add an extra charge for overseas cover or a courtesy car. Check what your policy does cover and remove the options you don't want. Consider budget or no-frills policies from providers like Tesco Value Insurance and Norwich Union Simple Cover.
4. Average the risk by adding your spouse. You can cut your premiums simply by adding your spouse to your policy if he/she has a clean driving record.
5. Pay more to save more. Again, reducing the risk to the insurer by agreeing to pay a larger excess will often reduce your premium.
6. Buy online. Insurers who operate mostly online should have lower overheads which often means lower premiums for customers.
7. Some insurers offer discounts for extra security devices like alarms, immobilisers or tracking devices.
8. If you have a drive or garage, park your car there for lower premiums.
9. Don't assume that because your original quote was cheap your renewal premium will be the same. Insurers often provide discounts to new customers which aren't repeated at renewal time. Go online and compare your renewal premium against the market.
10. Go green. Some insurers including Swiftcover.com offer a 10% discount for owners of environmentally friendly hybrid cars like a Honda Civic, Lexis GS, Lexus RX and Toyota Prius.