This equates to around £100 more for the average motorists in the UK
New research carried out by a price comparison website has revealed that car insurance premiums have risen by 19% since the beginning of the year – which equates to around £100 more for the average motorist in the UK.
According to the study by MoneySuperMarket.com, the rise in insurance premiums and fuel costs, along with the expected rise in 2017 of premium tax, means a “punishing time” lies ahead for motorists across the UK.
For the study, MoneySuperMarket.com looked at 873,000 customer quotes taken from their website during November and discovered that the average insurance premium is now around £597, compared to the start of 2016 when the average policy was around £500.
The average motorist is now having to fork out almost £100 more for their car insurance due to the sharp rise in prices over the past few months.
The cost of a policy back in August was £525, which rose to £549 in September, £572 in October and in November, we saw a 4% rise over one month alone, meaning the average insurance premium now stands at £597.
The increase in Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) is expected to rise from 10% to 12% from June 1, 2017 and reports in recent weeks claim that petrol prices are expected to rise any moment back to £1.20 a litre – leaving the comparison website feeling that motorists throughout the UK are set for a less cheery Christmas than hoped, with less money in their pockets too.
The consumer affairs expert at MoneySuperMarket.com, Kevin Pratt, said: “Motorists won’t be feeling much Christmas cheer when they read the news that car insurers are bumping up premiums by almost 19% a year.”
Mr Pratt also said that the government have announced their commitment concerning the fight against whiplash fraud but the problem has been spoken about before with no obvious changes so far, something which needs serious addressing – especially so given that during last month’s Autumn statement, the Chancellor confirmed a 20% IPT increase from next summer, which means a 12% rise on car and home insurance premiums for the average person in the UK.
Advice for UK motorists from MoneySuperMarket.com is to use comparison websites like their own, to help find the best deal out there and not to simply accept a renewal quote from their existing car insurance providers – it’s important that you shop around.
Mr Pratt says that by spending time shopping around for the best deal, motorists could save over £280 on their policy.
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