Drivers are set to pay record amounts for their motor insurance, according to Confused.com’s car insurance price index.
Premiums have soared by almost £100 in just four months and they are expected to speed past the most expensive average cost of £858 seen six years ago.
The increase is partly due to higher personal injury claims costs and a hike in Insurance Premium Tax (IPT).
Gender gap
The latest car insurance price increases are leaving some drivers more out of pocket than others.
Even though the rules prohibit insurers from assessing a driver’s risk based on their gender, there are other risk factors at play which lead men to have poorer claims experience than women, and this is reflected in the price of their premiums.
As a result, the gap between what men and women pay for their car insurance has widened even further, with a £120 difference in price.
However, this is linked to the fact that men tend to drive more expensive cars with larger engines, on average, so they make higher value claims. They also have significantly more convictions than women.
Drivers aged between 25-42 years and 54-70 years old are paying more than they have ever paid for their premiums.
And while younger drivers still have some way to go before they hit the peak, those aged between 17-27 are now paying more than £1,000 for their car insurance, on average.
Young drivers
In fact, younger motorists are bearing the brunt of the price increases. While 18-year-olds are still paying the highest premiums of any other age group (£2,334), it’s 19-year-olds who will notice the biggest jump with their costs having soared by a staggering £202 (10%) this quarter alone. And 21-year-olds have experienced the biggest monetary increase annually, with their car insurance ramping up by an eye-watering £315 (22%) since last year.
However it’s not all bad news – 66-year-olds enjoy some of the lowest premiums of any age group (£467) and also experienceg the smallest quarterly increase of just 4% (£20).
“Car insurance prices are at tipping point and very soon we expect it will be the norm for drivers to be paying the highest prices ever for their premiums,” said Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com.
“Since April this year, insurers are required to show drivers at renewal what they paid for their car insurance last year.
“So, being able to compare the amount they paid the year before, and armed with the knowledge that prices are rising across the board, motorists are better equipped than ever to shop around.”