The cost of insuring your car is set to hit a record average of £900 by the end of the year- here’s how to cut your costs now
The cost of car insurance has soared by nearly a quarter in just two years
BRITISH drivers will pay record-breaking insurance prices of more than £900 by the end of the year, a new study has found.
Data from insurance comparison site Confused.com, revealed that premiums were on course to eclipse the previous high of £858 set in 2011, with the last two years seeing a 23 per cent price rise.
Motorists are already shelling out an average sum of £827 for cover. Further increases in the pipeline could push the average comprehensive policy over £900 for the first time by the end of 2018.
And some drivers are facing more expensive car insurance costs than others.
How to keep you car insurance premiums down
DRIVERS up and down the country are experiencing rising premiums. Here's what you can do to keep your costs down.
- Never auto renew - Always shop around when it comes to renewal time. Insurers rely on you not bothering and you could knock hundreds off your bill going to a new company.
- Improve its security - Adding an alarm or immobiliser can help drive down the cost, as will keeping it locked in a garage overnight.
- Get the correct mileage - Providing your insurer with your correct mileage can really help lower your cost - the less miles you do, the less your premium will be.
- Pay upfront - If you can pay for your policy all in one go, you'll get a cheaper deal.
Men are paying £878 on average for their car insurance - that's £114 more than female motorists despite the EU gender directive, which prohibits insurers from assessing a driver’s risk based on their gender.
While younger drivers are used to paying through the nose for their car insurance, motorists aged over 60 years are seeing the greatest increases in the cost of premiums.
Still, drivers in their sixties are largely the ones paying the least – under £600 on average.
In some parts of the UK, prices have already reached four figures.
Drivers in Inner London are facing the most expensive premiums of anywhere in the country, having already surpassed the £900 mark to pay £1,283 on average.
Motorists in Manchester & Merseyside, Outer London, the West Midlands and Northern Ireland are also all paying over £1,000.
The biggest increases last year were in Scotland, where premiums rose by 17 per cent in the border region, by 13 per cent in the north and east, and by 11 per cent in the Highlands and Islands.
More for motorists
The boss at Confused.com, Louise O’Shea, CEO said: "January is always a difficult month after the excess of Christmas and that is true for drivers’ wallets too.
"The good news is that insurers now have to show us what we paid for car insurance last year. Therefore, it's never been easier for drivers to check what they paid then and compare it to what they are asking you to pay now."
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This comes as a ceasefire in the supermarket petrol price war has increased motorist’s fuel costs.
It has lead to pump prices hitting a three-year high at 121.7p per litre, according to the AA.
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