Being a responsible motorist - on and off the road - means investing in an insurance policy that covers you for damages, accidents and legal hitches. Over the next while, Insurers look to be clamping down and polices set to rise; however, by doing intelligent browsing online, you can minimise costs.

It has been reported - by Data Monitor - that car insurance is anticipated to rise by 25% over the next year. An increasingly competitive market and larger settlements for compensation claims have caused insurance companies to increase the price of premiums TO9 . However, there are ways in which you can maximise your financial freedom and minimise your insurance costs.

There seems to be a correlation between the number of accident victims taking insurance companies to court, and the issuing of bills by garages for repairs. Data Monitor has confirmed that insurers have raised premiums to ensure a more lucrative profit return; with a 20% increase in the last 12 months (approximately £100 added to the average premium), this percentage is expected to rise by the same amount in the next year. This means that motorists will be paying as much as one and a half times as much as they would have been paying two years ago, at no fault of their own.

Motorists are warned that they are going to have to be much more scrupulous and financially astute when deciding on which insurance company to trust and the kind of cover they personally require.

As some car owners may be the victims of even higher premium rises according to the type of car they drive, what it is used for and the area in which they live, they should not only read the small print of their policy carefully to find out exactly the extent and nature of coverage that they are obtaining.

They must also be prepared to switch their investments from traditional large-scale firms to upcoming ones, such as insurance programmes affiliated to supermarkets and banks.

Motorists might also want to reduce the number of drivers covered in their insurance contracts, fit security devices in their cars to convince the company of the improbability of serious accidents, and select a limited mileage option.

Reportedly, at the moment, only 1% of car owners shop for insurance on the internet, while 56% buy insurance directly from insurance companies and 68% still purchase cover by phone.

With such a supply of internet comparison websites, shopping for policies online is a swift, clean option. Online browsing enables the customer to move from site-to-site and quote-to quote without too much administrative hassle.

A number of these online companies offer a coherent and thorough breakdown of their policies too, so, equally, it is a question of researching your own specific needs against what's being offered.