Martin Lewis issues urgent warning to anyone with car insurance – key mistake can cost you £150 in extra premiums

MARTIN Lewis' MoneySavingExpert.com has revealed how a simple car insurance mistake could be costing you an extra £150 per year.

The consumer website's issued a warning over letting your motor insurance auto-renew.

Most insurers automatically roll over your premium when it's due to expire unless you tell them you want to cancel.

It means you can end up paying much than you should - but you can slash costs by shopping around to find a better deal.

MoneySavingExpert.com has its Car Insurance Compare+ tool, or you can go to price comparison sites like Go Compare or Uswitch to check out the best offers on the market.

If you find a better deal you can switch insurers, or use what you've found to haggle a better price with your existing one.

MoneySavingExpert.com's latest newsletter shared a success story from one of its readers Simon, who used the website's tool to slash the cost of his car insurance by £150.

He said: "My insurer's renewal increased from £369 to £506.

"I used your tool and was blown away with the results - despite adding extra cover, it still came in at £356.

"Thank you so much for what the whole absolutely brilliant MSE team do to help save the nation money."

It comes as statistics from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) in February revealed motor insurance as inflation caused a spike in the cost of labour and parts.

Households are contending with higher food and energy costs too.

Food inflation shot up by 17.1% in February, with annual grocery bills now £811 higher than a year ago.

Meanwhile, mortgage rates have risen in recent months piling extra pressure on homeowners.

It means household's wallets and purses are being squeezed on multiple fronts.

How can I slash the cost of car insurance?

There's other ways to cut the costs of your car insurance beyond not auto-renewing.

You can pay for your car insurance in weekly, monthly or yearly instalments.

But the ABI says paying yearly will most likely see you forking out less overall.

If you've got a speedy sports car, swapping it out for a lower-powered one will see your premium price drop too.

That's because your vehicle's engine size is one of the factors insurers use to work out the cost of your premium.

Insurers reward safe drivers - so building up your no claims discount will see your premium price drop too.

Meanwhile, black box or telematics insurance policies can help you slash costs further, given you're a competent driver.

They work by measuring things like your speed, distance travelled, the time of day you drive and add up to give you a score.

If you achieve a good driving score your insurer may offer you a reduced premium.

In addition, simple tricks like parking your car in the garage, if you have one, can slash car insurance costs too, as insurers will see the vehicle as being in a safer location.