Shop around for best deal on car insurance

Motorists across the UK will be feeling the pinch of rising car insurance costs, as the average price accelerates to the most expensive since the beginning of 2018.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Jan 2019, 12:29 BST
Updated 23rd Jan 2019, 12:33 BST
Potholes causing van drivers hundreds of pounds worth of damagePotholes causing van drivers hundreds of pounds worth of damage
Potholes causing van drivers hundreds of pounds worth of damage

According to new data from the UK’s most comprehensive car insurance price index, the cost of car insurance rose two per cent over the past three months – equivalent to £14 – to £774, on average.

This is the second consecutive rise since a brief period of softening prices which began in the third quarter of 2017. And prices are increasing at a faster rate than three months ago, when they crept up by just one percent (£8) in the same period in 2018 in comparison. While car insurance is still six per cent cheaper than 12 months ago, with the speed of price-rises accelerating, it could be that the worst is yet to come.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It seems motorists who stay with the same insurer are already starting to see these increases reflected in their renewal price. A nationally representative survey of UK drivers found more than half of motorists who renewed their car insurance in the last quarter - between October and December 2018 - saw their premium go up by £48 when they opened their renewal notice, on average, as insurers fail to reward loyal customers. However, worryingly, more than half of drivers who renewed their insurance during these months stayed with the same insurer, suggesting they did not seek a better deal elsewhere.

This research, from Confused.com, comes in the wake of investigations by the Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority, which are unveiling ‘loyalty penalties’ being charged to customers who choose to stay with the same provider, rather than shopping around. And with the post-Christmas pinch beginning to tighten and the UK in a period of economic uncertainty, Confused.com is urging drivers to check their renewal price and shop around to find a better deal.