Choosing a car insurance policy can often be as tricky as choosing a new car itself, though rather than eventually deciding a particular model looked better in blue after all, making the wrong choice can have massive financial implications.

Somewhat bizarrely, a significant proportion of drivers are all too happy to put their names down on a dealer's waiting list and then shell out massive amounts for a brand new vehicle yet then try and save a few pounds when it comes to getting their pride and joy insured.

While it may be satisfying to save a little bit every month by taking out bog-standard cover, should the insurer this is with not have a policy of 'new for old' when it comes to paying out on new car claims, drivers may find themselves losing out on thousands of pounds.

Those that do provide a 'new for old' vehicle in the event of a customer writing theirs' off will give them back the amount they parted with at the dealership should the unfortunate mishap occur within 12 months of the original purchase.

Thus, anyone who has written off a £20,000 car after just six months of owning it can generally expect to receive this sum back, give or take a few pounds taken out for things such as excess and administrative costs.

In stark contrast, a number of leading insurers have a policy of simply paying out the 'market value' of a car and their valuation is invariably at odds with the driver.

However, while a majority of claimants will protest all they can against what they see as paltry offers of compensation for what was essentially a brand new car, the insurers are sadly invariably correct in their valuations, with new figures from uSwitch.com showing just how far down they can go.

According to the latest research carried out by the consumer comparison service, the average new car loses £510 in value every month over the first year, equivalent to a £6,124 fall over 12 months.

Furthermore, the average car loses some £9,800 over four years, indicating how little an insurance provider may payout in the case of a written-off vehicle.

Given such figures, saving £10 or £20 a month on the original insurance policy seems insignificant and, significantly, most insurers won't bring their policies towards new car payouts to their customers' attention until it's too late.