What is the average cost of car insurance?

Insurers consider many things when deciding what to charge you, including: 

• personal details, like your:
  
  • age
  • address
  • job
• the type of car you have
• how many miles you drive
• where you park your car
• if you’ve claimed recently
• if you have any driving convictions. 

This helps them work out how likely you are to claim. For example, you’re likely to get a cheaper quote if:

• you’ve never claimed before
• you don’t drive many miles
• you have a cheap car.  

But different insurers can charge different prices, so always compare as many quotes as you can

Your age can make a big difference to the cost of insurance, as the table shows. With younger drivers and those aged over 65 usually paying more. See Car insurance for young drivers for help.

Figures above from NimbleFinsOpens in a new window showing the average of the five cheapest quotes. This is based on 5,000 miles per year, a £200 excess and a five-year no claims discount.

We know what you’re thinking – you can’t discriminate based on sex anymore! Yet male drivers are still paying more on average than female drivers: 

• men pay £987
• women pay £820.

Based on figures from Confused.com’s car insurance price indexOpens in a new window

Insurers must charge new and existing customers the same, but always check if you can save by switching insurers. Never just auto-renew.

You can get insurance quotes from: 

• comparison sites – enter your details once to get quotes from many insurers:
  • See our comparison site golden rules
  • See MoneySavingExpert’s order of the cheapest comparison sitesOpens in a new window
• insurers directly – not all insurers appear on comparison sites, such as Direct Line
• insurance brokers – for advice or a tailor-made policy. See When to use an insurance broker.

Other tips for getting a cheaper quote include:

• try adding a lower risk named driver (like a parent or partner)
• increase your excess, if you’re happy paying more if you had to claim
• paying annually rather than monthly.

See ten ways to keep car insurance costs down for more.

If you’re a young or inexperienced driver you might be offered a ‘black box’ policy that’s cheaper than the other ones listed – also known as telematics policies.

They give you a driving score that could reduce how much you’ll pay when it’s time to renew. Some insurers also give you rewards like vouchers for driving safely.

Your insurer might arrange for a small device to be fitted to your car or ask you to download an app which sends information back to them about the way you drive.

This can include:

• When you drive, if you often drive at night this can affect your driving score with some insurers.
• How many miles you drive and if you take breaks on long journeys.
• Whether you break the speed limit.
• How smoothly you drive, if you’re always slamming your brakes on or accelerating into corners, that could cause accidents.

Many people have seen a sharp rise in their car insurance payments this year.  

According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), car insurance prices have increased as repairs are now more expensive. This means insurers are having to pay more due to rises in the cost of: 

• spare parts
• paint, and
• labour.

A shortage of skilled workers and parts not being available are also leading to costly delays.

Insurers need to charge enough so they can afford to pay out on claims, so sadly this means we all have to pay more.