2017 UK car insurance industry watch covers the most important news stories, trends, research, opinion and developments for 2017.
If you are actively searching for a new cheap UK car insurance quote in 2017, and looking to SAVE money on your next policy then click through to the HomeApproved home page and you will find the relevant get a quote buttons at the top of the page.
Finding Your Next Motor Insurance Policy
This article first published in May 2017 sets out to examine if anything has actually changed in the process of finding the very best deals online for all categories of motorist and vehicle?
Are there any new developments from the motor insurers side that can dramatically lower your next quote? How about the motor manufacturers. We know they are making cars safer and more environmentally friendly, but does any of this actually result in lower premiums? Firstly lets take a closer look at some up to date statistics on the costs of motor policies in 2017:
Using data from the first Confused.com car insurance price index of 2017 we can see that UK car insurance prices have gone up £110 over the past year – a rise of 16%. This means the average driver now pays £781 per year for his or her premium.
We can also ascertain that cheap car insurance 2017 prices are up 21% in Scotland. Scotland has been hit particularly hard by price rises over the past 12 months. Average costs in the Scottish Highlands and Islands region, for example, have gone up 21% – or £102 – over the past year to £594.
The above figures don’t exactly make great reading if you were expecting a levelling out of premiums or maybe even a fall in the light of in-car technological safety advancements and the fitting of black box telematics to aid younger drivers. Unfortunately the reality is that there has been and still is a noticeable rise in the amounts motor insurers are having to pay out for personal injury claims.
In addition the pressure on insurers have been further increased by UK Government plans to change the way personal injury compensation pay-outs are calculated. The Ministry of Justice is to cut the discount rate (a calculation used to determine lump sum compensation to claimants who have suffered life-changing injuries – to -0.75pc from 2.5pc). The UK car insurance industry had widely expected the rate to fall to between 1.5pc and 1pc.
In summary the adage of shopping around online for the best cheap car insurance deal still remains true in 2017. The rise of the insurance comparison site is still in evidence although there has been some discussion on how truly objective there list of results returned are?! Some have accused these sites of promoting to the top of their search results insurers from who’m they earn the most commission.
It is also worth noting that the general consensus of opinion is the car insurance companies will make most of the profits from your policy in years 2 and 3. so it can save you money to definitely shop around every 12 months and take advantage of deals from motor insurers seeking new policyholders.
ENDS
A New Car Insurance Segment?
OK, we would like to throw this question out to all our readers.
The goal of the exercise is to come up with a new UK car insurance segment(s), which can deliver class leading value-for-money for those motorists covered, plus be able to deliver above average profit margins for the insurer!
We have already witnessed leading insurers segment the market along demographic lines. Examples include SAGA and RIAS, among others, specifically targetting the senior driver market. Likewise providers such as 4youngdrivers concentrate of developing competitive policies for younger drivers.
Segmentation has also been introduced on the basis of sex. For instance Diamond, and Sheila’s Wheels focus on lady drivers. Recently we have also seen The Fresh Insurance Group launch ‘First Insurance for Men’, promising great value motor insurance deals for male drivers of all ages.
WHAT NEXT?
This is where we would like you to come in! Give us your suggestions for segmenting the UK car insurance market. One idea could be to offer specific policies to residents of certain towns, or even a particular street!
We look forward to seeing some interesting and well thought through suggestions!
ENDS
Young Drivers – Listen Up!
An increasing dilemma for many university and college students across the UK, is the question of where to find the best value-for-money young driver car insurance?
The market place for young driver motor quotes is even more competitive than 12 months ago, with new insurers, brokers and providers offering increasingly tempting deals. However, it remains the case that simply buying your policy purely on price, or the lowest premium, is often not the most sensible decision.
Always try to seek out a tailor-made quote that fits your individual needs as a young driver. Whether this is through a specific insurer such as Endsleigh Insurance or one of the more popular price comparison insurance websites, such as MoneySupermarket.com or GoCompare.
If you are under 25 and have had a great experience with a particular insurer then let us all know, and leave a comment!
Lastly, a brief but very important reminder of the following:
Around 3,000 young drivers are killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads each year.
It is estimated that as many as one in five of all serious road accidents involve drivers under the age of 21.
DRIVE SAFELY.
ENDS