Motor premiums rise by 0.1% as Covid measures are eased

The cost of car insurance has stablised in line with the government easing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions – data insight firm Consumer Intelligence reported that car insurance prices have increased by 0.1% over the last three months, compared with a 2.5% price drop in the two months following the introduction of the national lockdown in March.

Motor insurance prices have now risen by a total 2% over the last 12 months, with the average premium sitting at £904.

However, John Blevins, pricing expert at Consumer Intelligence, feels further price fluctuations will still be on the cards until the coronavirus crisis has abated.

He said: “Given we are still living in uncertain times and differing isolation rules up and down the country, the effect in claims volumes and severity is not surprising – and we will continue to see fluctuations until we see some sustained normality return.”

Data breakdown

Consumer Intelligence further found that drivers in London saw the largest increase to their car insurance premiums over the last 12 months (6.4%), followed by those living in the East Midlands (3.9%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (3.8%). Only drivers in the South East and South West saw premium prices fall during the same period, by 1.1% and 0.8% respectively.

In terms of the types of policies, telematics car insurance policies now make up 58% of the five cheapest quotes for drivers aged under 25 – down from 64% a year ago.

In the last three months, drivers under the age of 25 saw their premium prices reduce by 0.6%, while those aged between 25 and 49 saw premiums increase by the same amount. For drivers aged over 50, their premiums dropped by 0.2%.

Looking over the last 12 months, however, those over 50 have experienced the biggest increase to car insurance premiums than any other age group (3%), followed by those aged between 25 and 49 (2.2%).