Drivers cash in as car insurance premiums tumble

MOTORISTS have enjoyed a drop of nearly a tenth in the cost of the average car insurance premium in the past year.

Analysis reveals that the 9.4 per cent fall takes the typical cost to £751 a year.

The decrease has been helped by a rise in the number of policies which reward customers for good driving by helping them to access cheaper contracts.

So-called telematics firms providing these policies now account for more than a quarter of the cheapest quotes, according to market researcher Consumer Intelligence. It said this is the highest proportion since it started collecting data in 2013.

The firm looked at prices offered to thousands of drivers by comparison websites and some direct insurers for comprehensive and third party-only cover.

Researchers analysed the best five deals for each person and found that the under25s had the biggest yearly fall of 10.5 per cent in premiums. Motorists aged 25 to 49 saw a 9.6 per cent decrease while it was down 8.2 per cent for the over-50s.

By region, the largest fall was in the North East at 13.2 per cent to £770 followed by the North West with a drop of 10.7 per cent to £984. London also had a large fall of 10.4 per cent but drivers in the capital continue to be the most expensive to insure with average premiums of £1,265.

Quotes for motorists in the South West remain the cheapest at £529 after a drop of 9.7 per cent in the cost of typical premiums in the year to August.

Overall, prices have fallen by nearly 20 per cent from a September 2017 peak.

Harriet Devonald, Consumer Intelligence’s insurance pricing expert, said: ‘Take-up of telematics policies has always been higher with younger drivers but even this group is using the technology more with 62 per cent of the cheapest five quotes now telematics-based for the under-25s.’