My car insurance costs me £150 a year extra due to ‘unfair’ rules – five ways to avoid the ‘poverty premium’
A FED-UP mum has to pay an extra £150 a year for her car insurance because of 'unfair' rules over her payments.
Clare Sandiford shells out around £1,000 to insure her Nissan Leaf because premium charges are higher than average in her Formby, Merseyside, postcode.
The sky-high price means Clare, 52, can’t afford to pay for it in one go – but paying monthly means she’s charged interest, costing her an extra £150 annually to insure her eight-year-old car.
Clare, who co-owns bespoke gift business with her husband Mark, 55, relies on her car as she needs it to care for her 18-year-old daughter, who has autism.
“Things are tough enough as it is and the extra I have to pay all adds up. It’s really frustrating,” she says.
Clare is one of the seven million Brits being hit with a "poverty premium".
Read more on the poverty premium
If you’re on a lower income, then you’ll be hit hardest by rising inflation and soaring energy bills.
It takes an average of £490 extra per year out of the pockets of low-income households, according to the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).
Paul Maynard MP describes the poverty premium as “a vicious cycle” because it limits how far people’s income will go, further trapping them in financial difficulties.
Here, we highlight the worst poverty premium offenders – and share the experts’ advice to help you save where you can:
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DAILY COSTS ADD UP
The poverty premium typically hits people hardest when they pay for things in instalments or as they go, instead of by direct debit, according to the CSJ.
Other issues include having to pay more for credit, being charged more for car and home insurance based on where you live, having to pay money to access cash and having to use smaller shops.
Poverty charity Turn2us found using local shops every day costs 48 per cent more than shopping in bulk at the supermarket – which is hard if you don’t have a car.
People relying on older household appliances like washing machines and tumble dryers can spend £100 or more extra on annual energy bills than those with newer goods.
And if your washing machine packs in, it’s up to 25 times more expensive to do all your laundry at a laundrette.
While using credit or buy-now-pay-later schemes to buy new appliances can end up costing you more than double, the charity says.
TOP TIP: Order in bulk online if you can to save on groceries and check out websites like Freecycle and Facebook marketplace as people often give away fairly new appliances.
MOTORING COSTS MORE
Drivers living in poorer areas tend to be charged more for car insurance because insurers see them as more of a risk.
“If you are a low-income car insurance customer you are likely to be paying £131 more for the same thing than someone living in a better postcode,” says Carl Packman, of poverty premium campaign group Fair By Design.
Higher costs mean it’s harder to pay for your policy as a lump sum.
But paying monthly incurs interest - costing the average motorist an extra £200 per year, according to comparison site MoneySuperMarket.
It also counts as a loan and can affect your credit rating, meaning you could be charged higher rates or declined other credit.
Owners of older cars who can’t afford a newer one are also penalised.
Typically “green” discounts on car tax or parking permits are only granted to newer, more efficient cars with lower emissions.
TOP TIP: Shop around for car insurance and try signing up for a new, free email address.
A Sun investigation previously found a driver was charged £31 more for applying using a Hotmail email address compared with a Gmail one.
EXTRA ON ENERGY
Around 4.5 million Brits use a prepayment meter for fuel bills, where money is loaded onto a key, card or app to pay for your energy as you use it.
Renters and people who have struggled with debts are most likely to have one.
Before this autumn, prepay customers were charged around £270 more per year for their fuel than those paying by the best direct debit deals.
But under the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee, from January to March 2023 prepayment meter customers will pay slightly less – 31.8p per unit for electricity and 6.4p for gas, compared to 34p and 10.3p for direct debit customers.
It’s not yet clear whether this discount will remain after April.
That’s why Fair By Design is calling for fairer prices for prepay customers.
“Everyone should be paying the same unit costs for energy, otherwise it’s the people who can least afford it who are paying more,” says Packman.
If you’re on a prepayment meter you are entitled to vouchers worth £400 off your bills this winter - but you have to apply for these.
Some customers have had problems – in December, MoneySavingExpert revealed up to one in three prepay customers had not yet received their vouchers for the previous two months.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
If you haven’t got yours, contact your supplier and check they have your up-to-date contact details.
TOP TIP: You can ask your supplier to switch you to a regular meter if you are not in debt, or if you are but your health is at risk, i.e. if you can’t safely access the meter or need to run medical equipment.