2020 UK car insurance industry watch covers the most important news stories, trends, research, opinion and developments for 2020.
If you are actively searching for a new cheap UK car insurance quote in 2020, 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.
No More Sales of Petrol or Diesel Cars from 2035
Is this genuinely realistic or simply enpty promises and bluster from the current Conservative UK Government?
The government had originally said the ban would happen in 2040 – but they’ve brought it forward by five years.
It’s all part of a push to help Britain achieve nearly zero carbon emissions by 2050 and to help improve air pollution.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said hybrid vehicles will also be banned. This means that in 15 years’ time motorists in the UK will only be allowed to buy electric cars.
A spokesperson for Friends of the Earth, an environmental charity, said the plans are a good idea but that the ban should come in even sooner. Many climate activists wish the date to ne moved forward to 2030.
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Six ways your car insurance could change in 2020
Motor insurers have long been subject to scrutiny about how fair (or not) their prices are – specifically for customers who don’t shop around.
In 2019 the industry regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released a broad and scathing report.
This concluded that six million customers weren’t getting a good deal on their insurance. It also suggested a number of remedies to help fix the problem.
How to get a better deal on your UK car insurance
Don’t wait before buying:
The closer you are to your policy starting, the higher the premium you’ll pay. So don’t put off buying your insurance.
Don’t assume your insurer is offering you their best price:
People who challenge their renewal premiums generally get offered better prices.
See what you’re ‘worth’:
even if you don’t plan to switch, use a comparison site (a few, if you can) to get a good impression of the best prices available for the cover you want.
Only buy what you need:
Insurers make large profits off selling ‘add-ons’. Some of these are highly valuable, but others – on reflection – might not be vital to you.
Don’t get sold short:
If an insurer’s questions, or those on a comparison site, don’t seem to adequately capture your circumstances, call the insurer to make sure they get the full picture. You could otherwise end up overpaying or not being properly insured.
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Sony announces electric car concept
Electronics giant Sony has surprised attendees of the 2020 CES Tech show by unveiling an electric car dubbed the Vision S.
The vehicle is a prototype designed to show off the firm’s sensors and in-car entertainment technologies. The dashboard is flanked by an ultra-wide panoramic screen “for driving information and entertainment”.
However, Sony did not indicate that it had any plans to sell the car to the public. On the outside, the Vision-S casts nearly the same silhouette as a Tesla Model 3, Lucid Air or Porsche Taycan.
It’s an unimaginative design, but it’s forgivable. What Sony is really showing off is the interior, the sensors, infotainment and user interface.
A total of 33 sensors pepper the car inside and out, including complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera imaging, solid-state lidar and radar. The same sort of technology Toyota and Lexus currently use for their driver-assist systems.
Evolutions in Imaging and Sensing Technologies in the Realm of Mobility
“Safety Cocoon” represents a safe-zone concept in which supports vehicle safety in various daily driving situations by detecting 360 degrees around the vehicle, enabling early preparation to help evade risk.
Through Sony’s imaging and sensing technologies, which are beyond the human eye, the company aim to contribute to the achievement of safe, reliable, and comfortable mobility experiences.
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Where in the UK are Car Insurance Premiums Rising Fastest?
The latest Willis Towers Watson / Confused.com Car Insurance Price Index is out. Read on to discover which region in the UK was hit the hardest and which was nearly spared in terms of increases in comprehensive car insurance premiums.
According to the index, the average premium in the fourth quarter of 2019 stood at £815, which is higher compared to both the previous quarter (£783) as well as the same period in 2018 (£774). It also showed that costs went up across all regions in the UK over the last 12 months.
The biggest annual rise (8%) was seen in Inner London where motorists now pay an average of £1,260, while the Scottish Borders posted the smallest year-on-year hike of 1% to £615 in average premium. Meanwhile the region with the cheapest car insurance, at only £595 on average, is the South West.
Many of the challenges faced by the UK motor insurance industry throughout 2019 will persist in 2020, as cost pressures remain from expensive vehicle repairs, theft claims, last summer’s discount rate change, Brexit-related uncertainty, and IPT (insurance premium tax) increases.
Compiled using anonymous data from all enquiries submitted on Confused.com, the index analyses prices that are based on an average of the best five quotes received.
Source: Insurance Business Mag, January 2020
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Are Car Insurers Profiting during the Corona Virus Lockdown?
The coronavirus pandemic has impacted many aspects of life, including our car insurance.
The Department of Transport’s (DfT) makes it a legal requirement for anyone with a registered vehicle in the UK to keep it insured at all times.
There are a few exclusions, one of which is if you’ve taken your car off the road and hold a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) certificate.
Government figures have confirmed that motor vehicle use in the UK is down two-thirds. Insurers have also seen a reduction in the amount of claims being made.
According to Insurance Post, some insurers have seen claims drop by as much as 50% in one week since the start of lockdown, which can be attributed to far fewer vehicles being on the road- people are mainly using their vehicles to go grocery shopping or to help friends, family and those in their network that are elderly or unwell.
With 50% fewer claims, car insurers could be making over £1bn in profits from the lockdown over three months. Consumers should open dialogue with their insurers if they’re struggling to meet monthly car insurance payments or feel their annual policy should be adjusted.
Given annual policies were based on assumptions that are no longer correct, surely it’s only fair to readjust policies to factor in the current climate, as cars sit at home?
Consumers could save a lot of money on their motor insurance if it was modern, flexible, and consumers weren’t tied into long contracts.
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Loyal Customer? Are You Paying Over the Odds For Your Motor Policy??
Would you be happy if on renewal of your new car insurance policy, you would pay more to your insurer then a new customer with exactly the same cover?
Latest research from The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has suggested that “radical” reforms to the UK insurance sector would save consumers £3.7bn over 10 years.
If adopted, the plans would see customers, old and new, buying on the same channel getting the same price. So those buying, for example, online would get the equivalent deal, whether renewing or a new customer.
Christopher Woolard, interim chief executive of the FCA, said: ‘We are consulting on a radical package that would ensure firms cannot charge renewing customers more than new customers in future, and put an end to the very high prices paid by some long-standing customers.”
The FCA has been studying ways to prevent six million people paying on average £200 too much on premiums. Overall, the FCA had suggested consumers were overpaying by £1.2bn a year.
For motor insurance, new customers pay £285 while customers who have been with their provider for more than five years pay £370, according to the FCA’s example.
The FCA has been looking to tackle the loyalty penalty – a result in the growth, and encouragement, of shopping around for insurance, overdrafts and utilities.
Those who switch get the best deals as new customers. Those who stay loyal get charged more. Millions of motor insurance policies are held by people who have been with their provider for five years or more.
Source: BBC Website, September 2020
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