WE all know it can cost a fortune running car – but if you've got two or more vehicles on the driveway you could save thousands of pounds by switching your insurance.

Recent research found that Brits will be forking-out a record more than £900 to keep their car on the road by the end of the year.

But according to MoneySavingExpert (MSE) drivers with a multi-car policy – where you have more than one car on the same policy – should be shopping around for separate policies to see if they can save money.

AND those with separate polices should also be looking at swapping to a multi-car policy to see if they can save a packet on their premium too.

MSE gave the example of one reader who had three cars on a multi-car policy and saved an eye-watering £1,400 by switching them to three separate policies.

But another customer with three cars managed to save £4,600 a year because they took out an Admiral multi-car policy instead.

Steve Nowottny, news and features editor at MoneySavingExpert.com, said: "There’s no hard-and-fast rule for whether multi-car or standalone policies are cheaper – either can win.

"But as a general rule of thumb, check the opposite of what you’ve got first – so if you’ve standalone policies, check multi-car first, and if you’ve multi-car now, check standalone first.

"That’s because insurers usually give newbies better deals – when it comes to insurance, loyalty doesn’t pay.

"How much you can save depends on a number of things, including the age of the drivers, the cars you’re insuring, driving history and who’s insured on each vehicle – but we’ve heard of £2,000 plus savings."

Multi-car policies don't appear on price comparison websites like GoCompare and ComparetheMarket – while three of the biggest insurers, Direct Line, Aviva and Zurich aren't on comparison websites at all.

That means you'll have have to check the quotes with each company individually to see where you can get the cheapest policy – but the effort could save you huge amounts when it comes to your premium.

Multi-car policies: what you need to know

THE car insurance world can be a little confusing. Here are what some key terms mean, courtesy of uSwitch.com.

Multi-car policies – This is where all your family cars are on one insurance policy. This can work out cheaper in some cases but not always.

Multi-car discounts – Here you get separate policies for each car but you'll get a discount on each additional policy you purchase from them.

Multi-policy discounts – This is a relatively new innovation for the insurance industry and is when an insurer will offer you a discount for taking out multiple types of insurance with them – for example taking out your home and car insurance with the same company. Insurers like Direct Line and Churchill offer this.

Rod Jones, insurance expert at uSwitch.com, told The Sun Online that whichever policy you currently have, it's worth shopping around as different insurers will offer you different prices due to a host of different factors.

He said: "Whenever you look to take out an insurance policy, there are a range of variables the insurer considers before offering you a quote.

"What these variables are, and the effect they have on your premiums, can vary from insurer to insurer – so it is really important to shop around the different comparison sites and direct from the likes of Aviva and Direct Line, who aren’t on comparison sites."

Last month, insurer LV= revealed that drivers could save as much as £400 on their insurance bill simply by adding a second car to their cover.

How to find the best multi-car policies

MULTI-CAR policies can save you a packet when it comes to your premium. But how can you find the cheapest deal?

The best multi-car policy for you will depend on you  and your other drivers' circumstances, as it's not always cheaper to put all your cars on one policy.

But the key is to shop around – multi-car policies don't appear on price comparison sites – so you have to do the leg work yourself and go to the insurers directly via their website.

You'll then pop in your details and those of the other drivers and their vehicles and you'll be given a quote.

Do this a few times to see what insurer will give you the best deal.

If you want to shop around for multi-car discounts and multi-policy discounts you can use a price comparison site, as normal.

And of course, if you already have a multi-cover policy and want to check standalone policies, then you can use a price comparision too. Check a few sites with your details to see where you can get the cheapest premium.

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