Car insurers might seem to have jammed the accelerator to the floor when it comes to premiums but with a little effort, you can apply the brakes - and even put those price hikes into reverse.

Are you a TV movie personality, jockey, reporter, nightclub bouncer, circus acrobat, street trader, scrap merchant or student? For some reason, these select few often have to pay though the nose to insure their cars.

And if an insurance actuary has concluded from the statistics that people in your line of business damage or lose their cars a lot, there's little you can do to reduce your premium other than change your occupation.

Of course, it cuts both ways - if you're a librarian you may be laughing, while women drivers emerge well from statistical analysis, and can enjoy lower premiums as a result. Valid car insurance is a legal requirement, but there are ways of lowering the cost of your policy.

Despite rising car insurance premiums, your target should be to reduce yours year by year.

For instance. why assume you need comprehensive cover? Think about who drives the car. Do you really need an access-for-all car insurance policy covering any unspecified driver? Perhaps you could restrict access to a limited number of other drivers of whom your insurer approves in terms of age, occupation, experience and record.

Few people opt for third-party-only (TPO) policies, which do barely more than make your car legal. They cover liability for injuries to other people, and damage to others' property caused by your vehicle on the road, as well as the liability of passengers for accidents caused by them.

Our car insurance comparison service allows you to compare car insurance quotes from more than 50 car insurance companies, including the AA, Budget and Asda. However, there’s more to a search than just finding cheap car insurance.