How much Has car insurance gone up

[Kryton]

It also helps being organised. Someone told me the other day a factor that had never even considered. If you sort your insurance 3-4 weeks in advance, you are more organised than someone sorting days before. The people leaving til the last minute are prone to leave everything in life til the last minute so rush & become more of a risk so likely to have the same mindset when travelling

 

[SRGTD]

It also helps being organised. Someone told me the other day a factor that had never even considered. If you sort your insurance 3-4 weeks in advance, you are more organised than someone sorting days before. The people leaving til the last minute are prone to leave everything in life til the last minute so rush & become more of a risk so likely to have the same mindset when travelling

Yes, leaving until the last minute before sorting out your insurance does generally mean the price will be higher.

Also, insurance companies will always be looking for new risk factors that they can use in their assessment of risks and calculation of premiums to;
a) make their prices more competitive relative to the prices of their competitors
b) improve the selection of risks they want to insure
c) improve the profitability of their book of business.

Insurance company pricing algorithms are very sophisticated these days; gone are the days when premiums would be calculated by an insurance company employee using a paper-based rate book or a spreadsheet with just a handful of risk factors (e.g. claims history, driver age, car make/model and postcode) to calculate premiums. Nowadays multiple risk factors are used, some of which might not seem to be entirely relevant to the risk of insuring a car - e.g. a person’s credit rating. Credit rating is an indication of a person’s ability to pay and apparently it’s been statistically proven that there’s a strong correlation between the ability to pay and the insurance risk (poor credit rating; more likely to claim, good credit rating; less likely to claim).

This increased sophistication makes it almost impossible for individuals to compare premiums with one another to determine whether or not the price they’ve been quoted is realistic. IMHO, for anyone who feels the price they’ve been quoted by their current insurance company is too high, then it is better to shop around and use the comparison sites or a high street broker to get a range of premiums that are specific to them, rather than compare with other individuals whose risk profiles are likely to be very different.

 

[Kryton]

What I particularly love about insurance is when they said they would level out policies between male & female drivers. I was looking forward to my policy coming down but instead they just hiked up female driver policies. That seems like a lot of extra coming in from 50% of the driving population

 

[Lukeqz]

I just got my renewal through for this year. I paid £582 last year, and the quote this year was £1900, but I realised that I'd moved since so let them know that.

Now the quote is £3400+, not quite sure what to do with that information

 

[SRGTD]

I just got my renewal through for this year. I paid £582 last year, and the quote this year was £1900, but I realised that I'd moved since so let them know that.

Now the quote is £3400+, not quite sure what to do with that information

Your higher premium suggests that your insurance company considers your new address to be a higher risk (maybe they’ve experienced a large number of car theft or car damage claims in your new postcode area?). In your position, I would shop around and try and find a better price - the easiest way is to use one of the price comparison websites. It would also be worth asking your current insurance company if they can offer you a lower premium to retain your business, especially if you’ve been insured with them for a number of years - when I’ve done this in the past, I’ve been given a lower price; if you don’t ask you don’t get.

You could also consider making changes to your cover to reduce the price;

• Consider increasing the excess under your policy which should reduce the premium you’ve been quoted.
• Review the declared estimated annual mileage under your policy; if it’s higher than the mileage you currently drive and you can legitimately reduce it to reflect your actual annual mileage, then consider doing so. However, never be dishonest and give an unrealistically low mileage figure as that would be considered to be insurance fraud.
• Review any add-ones under the policy - e.g. breakdown cover, courtesy car cover, legal expenses etc. If there are any add-ons that you don’t need (if, for example you have separate breakdown cover elsewhere), then consider deleting them.

Some insurance companies will give a discount if you insure both your home and car with them, so if you currently have home and motor insurance with two separate insurance companies, consider insuring both with a the same company.

Bear in mind that many insurance companies charge higher premium rates the closer you get to your renewal date, so it would be worth doing your research sooner rather than later.

 

[GORDYDJ]

My insurance last year for 2006 C4 1.6HDI was £924. Two weeks ago changed to 2009 1.9TDI model S Leon. With just one month left to run I paid £42 for the change. My cover ends 28/4. Got my renewal quote this week. They want just over £1500. Thought I would give them the opportunity to beat the cheapest quote of £1049.18 (and £45 back through Topcashback). Nope, their quote went up to over £1700!

 

[hawkx617]

My insurance last year for 2006 C4 1.6HDI was £924. Two weeks ago changed to 2009 1.9TDI model S Leon. With just one month left to run I paid £42 for the change. My cover ends 28/4. Got my renewal quote this week. They want just over £1500. Thought I would give them the opportunity to beat the cheapest quote of £1049.18 (and £45 back through Topcashback). Nope, their quote went up to over £1700!

There's no reasoning behind premiums at the moment.

In my first year of driving (2022), I paid £1600 for full comp 2013 1L Focus at 19 yo (living away from home at uni, etc).

Six months later it blew up, and I bought the Leon. It was 1L to 1.4L, 110bhp to 150bhp, and soggy Titanium to a boy racer FR.

Price? My premium went down to £1200.

Fast forward to last renewal (August), they took £2100 from me, after two years NCB, clean licence, and no significant changes in my details.

Scam.

 

[GORDYDJ]

There's no reasoning behind premiums at the moment.

In my first year of driving (2022), I paid £1600 for full comp 2013 1L Focus at 19 yo (living away from home at uni, etc).

Six months later it blew up, and I bought the Leon. It was 1L to 1.4L, 110bhp to 150bhp, and soggy Titanium to a boy racer FR.

Price? My premium went down to £1200.

Fast forward to last renewal (August), they took £2100 from me, after two years NCB, clean licence, and no significant changes in my details.

Scam.

Unbelievable. It's like they just make it up as they go along.

 

[hawkx617]

Unbelievable. It's like they just make it up as they go along.

I was inspired to do another quote for next year (August)

Grand total, including an address change of 0.4 miles, someone going into the back of me at Xmas, a remap and different wheels...... £970!

I know in the eyes of insurance I am a risk, but there is quite literally ZERO correlation between anything! £1600, £1200, £2100 and £970 all within three years, with a totally clean licence.

 

[SRGTD]

I was inspired to do another quote for next year (August)

Grand total, including an address change of 0.4 miles, someone going into the back of me at Xmas, a remap and different wheels...... £970!

I know in the eyes of insurance I am a risk, but there is quite literally ZERO correlation between anything! £1600, £1200, £2100 and £970 all within three years, with a totally clean licence.

Unfortunately, it’s not just you, your car and your driving and claims history that influences your premium.

Insurance is based on the principle that the losses and claims of the few are paid for by the (premium) contributions of all policyholders, so if other policyholders have had claims but you have been claim free, part of your premium will help to pay the claims of those other policyholders.

Premiums in general are on the increase. Factors that might account - or partially account - for those increases will include the following (there’ll no doubt be other factors too);

• increased energy costs, which will impact the cost of running car body repair shops and higher repair costs will mean increased claims costs for insurance companies
• high inflation rates, so labour rates and the cost of parts and paint used in vehicle repairs are likely to be costing more
• much of the tech in modern cars is at the front of the car, so susceptible to damage in a frontal impact, and expensive to replace. Associated costs (e.g. recalibration of sensors) can also be expensive
• increased complexity and cost in repairing certain types of vehicles (e.g. EV’s). Higher vehicle write-off frequency associated with EV’s which will add to insurance company overall claim costs
• recent parts shortages (e.g. semiconductors) are likely to have pushed up the cost of those items. I dare say the price of parts affected by shortages wouldn’t have reduced back to pre-increase levels when normal supplies were resumed
• Government action; periodically, the government will increase the rate of IPT (insurance premium tax) levied on premiums, which we all have to pay.
• insurance companies will have a financial objective of delivering a profit so they can pay a pay a dividend to their shareholders!
  
  . So if an insurer’s motor portfolio has made a loss, premium rates will be increased with the objective of returning the account to profit.

Additionally, insurance companies will be analysing their claims and risk data on an ongoing basis to identify trends and potential new risk factors that they could use in their pricing algorithms. The output of that analysis could mean some policyholders see their premiums change.

It‘s always worth shopping around at policy renewal time as the chances are you’ll be able to find comparable cover at a lower price, but don’t always go for the cheapest price as it might be the cheapest for a reason (e.g. poor claims service, poor customer service).

There might be other actions a person can consider taking to help reduce their premium - e.g.;

• consider increasing the excess in return for a premium reduction
• are there any extra cost add-ons under the policy that aren’t needed?
• review the declared estimated annual mileage figure and reduce it if it’s higher than the actual annual mileage driven. However, always be honest and ensure the declared mileage is realistic as falsely declaring too low a figure would be insurance fraud (falsifying risk information to get a lower premium), and could result in the policy being voided or the insurance company declining a claim.

 

[tracktoy]

You have sort of mentioned it but from my personal experience you also see insurance companies shifting risk profiles vs gaining market share,

Many years ago I was with tesco insurance and year after year they gave the best price, then they became expensive as they had the market share they wanted.

Personally I also find that in certain cases (as in you have lots of modifications on the car) insurance companies think you are less likley to be stupid as you have put lots of cash into the car so will be careful but obviously with the caviats of Car, Location and Age of owner.

Met a guy at a car meet on Sunday and he used a company that only insured learner drivers, his daughter got two years no claims bonus so when she got her license her insurance was reduced.

Bottom line Cars in general (and more so with more modern cars) are expensive to run when you have an accident / problem that needs fixing.

 

[SRGTD]

@tracktoy - I dare say that insurance companies will also adjust their premium rates depending on whether at a specific point in time their strategy is one of profit or increasing their market share. They’ll also look to achieve a balanced portfolio of risks, so if they find they’re attracting too many of a certain type of risk, then they’ll no doubt adjust (increase) their premium rates for those specific risks to redress the balance.

I think with modified risks, many insurance companies don’t really understand the modified market so the easy option is to either not quote or to quote stupidly high premiums so they write very little - if any - modified business. IMHO for anyone into modifying their car, it’s probably best to use an insurance company or insurance broker that specialises in insuring modified risks and have staff who are enthusiasts themselves who understand the modified market.

Interesting about the introductory no claims discount for young drivers.……..

At the end of the day, insurance is a necessary evil that we all have to buy. Although price is an important consideration for me, an established insurance company who I‘ve heard of and that has a good reputation for their customer service and claims handling is also important. As I said in my previous post, the cheapest price might be the cheapest for a reason - e.g. an indication of poor customer service and claims service.