As spring officially begins on Friday, car insurance customers have been advised to take the initiative and spring clean their finances. Reports have shown the rise in car insurance premiums and customers could do with saving finances when and where they can.

The motor insurance provider, esure has produced tips on how motorists can save on their cover policies, while making sure that they are receiving adequate protection for their vehicles and themselves, such as spring cleaning their garage for their vehicles.

One point is to give an accurate estimate of your annual mileage to your insurer. Reports show that the more miles you drive the more likely you are of being involved in an accident, so make sure you're not over-paying by over-estimating your mileage. Esure's in-house statistics show that average mileage among drivers fell by almost five per cent from 2007 to 2008.

Keeping the amount of voluntary excess at an affordable rate will be beneficial. This is because if you ever needed to pay a claim; you will be able to pay up straight away. Esure suggests that you should never have an excess that you can't afford to pay straight away. However, by adding just £50 to a voluntary excess will reduce your overall premium.

Moreover, a large majority of insurers offer additional discounts for cars that are garaged when not in use. There is less chance of theft, vandalism, smashed wing mirrors, and stationery collisions. If you have a garage, make sure it's used to store your car rather than household junk, which could save you some money.

Spring clean the garage for savings

Adding a spouse to a car insurance premium, could see insurers, charging a lower premium for ‘insured and spouse' rather than ‘main driver with one named' due to the so-called ‘family factor'. Once a child or loved one is in the car, a driver will usually behave more responsibly than they might have done, as a driver who is a 'young, free and single'. Thus adding a partner to the insurance, even if they would rarely drive your car can lower the cost of premiums that will be paid.

If you want a car with lots of gizmos and gadgets, try to buy a model that has them as standard. Enhancing the performance of your car or fitting expensive accessories is likely to hike up your insurance premium or could leave your vehicle difficult to insure.

Where possible, insurance customers could try to pay a lump sum as paying monthly instalments usually adds an interest payment on top. Paying by instalments basically means that you are paying back a loan to your insurer. Try to save up by making a note of what month your car insurance is due and transferring some money each month into a savings account, which can go towards a lump sum repayment.

No claims bonuses add up

Building up a no claim discount is the best way to reduce your car insurance premium. Insurers' scales are all different but many insurers go up to a 70 per cent no claim discount for drivers who haven't claimed for over five years. Esure's scale rises from 70 per cent with an extra 1 per cent each year for drivers who remain claim free up to a maximum of 75 per cent.

Mike Pickard, Head of Risk and Underwriting at esure car insurance, said: "Now is the perfect time to do some spring cleaning - not just to your home but all aspects of your household finances. Savings on car insurance premiums are there to be had by shopping around and being smart when it comes to getting a quote. How you pay, who is on your policy and what excess you choose can all go some way to driving down your premium."

He also added: "When motorists shop around for car insurance, price is usually at the top of their minds but having a good quality product is key as well as good value. If the unexpected does happen, drivers could fall short of some of the policy basics if they don't check their level of cover so it's worth reading the small print and not scrimping where it matters."