Drivers in South Wales have been hit with accelerating car insurance prices as the cost ramps up by £87 (13%) in a year.
Car insurance in the region has now reached £765, according to the latest Confused.com car insurance price index (Q3 2017), powered by Willis Towers Watson – the most comprehensive car insurance price index in the UK based on more than 6 million quotes a quarter.
Car insurance prices are expected to hit the highest levels on record across the UK by 2018, although it seems drivers have had a brief respite from rising motoring costs as premiums steady over the past quarter. Premiums in South Wales have decreased by 1% (-£7) in three months, as insurers recover from the Ogden rate cut earlier this year.
Despite this brief period of stability, the average cost of car insurance in the UK is still £100 more expensive than a year ago, after accelerating by 14% over the past 12 months to £838. This is a whopping 65% increase in pricing over the past decade, equivalent to a monetary rise of £329. And taking into account the comparatively cheap £737 drivers were paying for car insurance a year ago (Q3 2016), it’s more important than ever for motorists to make a note of last year’s premium before they renew.
Now insurers are also anticipating a change to the way the Ogden rate is calculated following a recent government announcement where the rate could go back up to 1%. To reflect this, the average premium in the UK has in fact taken a -1% (-£9) dip in prices. While this is the first time car insurance has shown a quarterly decrease in over three years (Q2 2014), the slowdown has been short lived.
Compared to last year, many drivers in the UK will notice that their premiums have ramped up significantly, but some drivers have been hit in the pocket more than others. While female drivers have seen their car insurance bump up by £91 (13%) to £774 since last year, men have borne the brunt of the price hike, following a £109 (14%) increase to £890 for their average premium.
And even though the rules prohibit insurers from assessing a driver’s risk based on their gender, there is still a disparity between what men and women pay for their car insurance. Men are now paying £116 more for their car insurance than women, just £5 short of the pre-EU gender directive gap in (Q4 2011, £121). While insurers are unable to assess a driver based on their sex, there are other risk factors at play which men tend to fall foul, and this is reflected in the price of their premiums. For example, men tend to drive more expensive cars with larger engines, on average, so they make higher-value claims. They also have significantly more motoring convictions than women.