Car insurance premiums drop 4%

Car insurance premiums have dropped on average by 4% compared to those on offer a year ago, according to tiger.co.uk’s September price monitor.

Some premiums are 2.9% lower than prices recorded last month, it said.

Insurance policy premiums in September 2012 are comparable with those recorded in September 2010, with the most significant annual price drops being recorded for male and female drivers aged between 35 and 55. These driver profiles saw their car insurance quotes drop by between 9.3% and 17.9% compared to a year ago.

Tiger Watch also found that the UK’s women drivers are also faring better in September, following several months in which policy prices for females had been increasing while their male counterparts had been enjoying rate reductions.

In the six months to August 2012, the UK’s female drivers saw their relative pricing swing from a 12%+ advantage to a worse than parity position. In September, however, this trend reversed, with women motorists seeing an average month-on-month decrease in prices of some 4.7%. This contrasts with a decrease in male pricing of just 1.1%.

Tiger.co.uk’s commercial director Andrew Goulburn said: “Generally we are seeing pricing trends that are better news for motorists. Prices are largely back to where they were two years ago as competition between insurance providers remains fierce.

“The driver profiles that we look at in the 35-55 year-old range are benefiting from this the most, with double-digit price drops compared to a year ago. There’s been an interesting correction in female policy pricing too, with the recent trend towards increased prices for women drivers reversing in September.”