Premiums rise for most, but youngsters see a slow down

To help motorists in the region see how these increases have impacted their own premiums, Confused.com has created a car insurance calculator. The tool allows users to input their region, age and gender to find out the average cost of premiums for their demographic, compared to 12 months ago.

In central and north Wales the average  premium was £635 compared to the £704 in South Wales. If you think that’s bad, inner London drivers pay about £1,169 annually.

     Cardiff

     Swansea

     Llandudno

     Shrewsbury

     Llandrindod Wells

£709

£688

£660

£613

£521

While car insurance is still -6% (-£53) cheaper than 12 months ago (Q4 2017), with the speed of price-rises accelerating, it could be that the worst is yet to come.

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 (57%) of motorists who renewed their car insurance in the last quarter (October – December 2018) saw their premium go up by £48 when they opened their renewal notice⁽¹⁾, on average, as insurers fail to reward loyal customers.

However, worryingly, more than half (56%) of drivers who renewed their insurance during these months stayed with the same insurer, suggesting they did not seek a better deal elsewhere.

The Confused.com research comes in the wake of investigations by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), 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.

To further incentivise drivers to do their research this January, Confused.com is giving motorists the chance to save even more by guaranteeing to beat their car insurance renewal price, or give them the difference, plus £20.

As prices start to ramp up at a pace, motorists will be feeling the pinch when shopping for car insurance, although some more so than others.

In particular, car insurance is more expensive for men out of the two sexes, with the gap between prices for male and female UK drivers increasing to almost £100.

The cost of car insurance for male motorists increased +£15 (+2%) over the quarter, bringing the overall average to £817.

This opens the gap between prices for men and women to an eye-watering +£98 difference since the last quarter (Q3 2018), with women paying £719 in comparison, on average. This is +£11 (+2%) more than they were paying three months ago.

Don’t cheat to get cheaper cover:

GoCompare Car Insurance is warning motorists not to try and cut the cost of cover by lying about their driving and has highlighted five of the most common ‘white lies’ used by motorists.

Last year 449,000 confirmed or suspected dishonest insurance applications were detected by insurers.  Of these, most were for car insurance where drivers either lied or withheld information in an attempt to get cheaper cover.

The consequences for drivers caught being economical with the truth are severe.  Depending on the circumstances, their insurer may cancel the policy, refuse to pay a claim or prosecute them for fraud.

If the driver is found to have been fraudulent then the insurer may treat the policy as if it had never existed.  The applicant could also end-up in court and find they are unable to get insurance in the future.

Five fibs which could invalidate your car insurance

How the car is used

There are three types of car usage: social; social and commuting; business use.  Social usage excludes any travel to and from work or other business use so, if you use your car to get to work then you need to make sure your policy covers commuting.  Insurers tend to charge a higher premium for commuting and business use because drivers are more likely to be on the road at the busiest times of day.

‘Fronting’

To get cheaper cover for a young driver, some parents arrange insurance for their son or daughter, listing them as an additional driver as opposed to the main driver.  This is known as ‘fronting’ and insurers consider it fraud.  The person who uses the car most often should be listed as the main driver on the policy, additional drivers should only be added if they drive the car occasionally.

Occupation

Your occupation and the way you describe it will impact on the price you pay for car insurance. You will also need to tell your insurer if you change your job.

Withholding information about previous claims or damage to your car

In addition to more serious accidents, you should declare details of minor knocks and dents – even if you didn’t claim for the accident.

Failing to own-up to penalty points or other driving convictions

Deliberately failing to disclose driving offences is fraudulent.  Drivers should declare penalty points and other motoring convictions when applying for a policy.  Drivers should also notify their insurer immediately of any penalty points received during the term of their cover – rather than waiting until it comes up for renewal.