Question: My Mercedes CLK280 car insurance premium rose from £280 to £460 with M&S Insurance this year. I am a 67-year-old man, married, with two adult children, a homeowner, with no adverse credit rating problems. I have no driving convictions in the past five years and 15 years’ no-claims. Nothing has changed in the last year. I reinsured with the Post Office for £360 via a comparison website. Why do you think I was faced with such an increase?
Answer: It’s common practice among insurers to set renewal premiums at a high level: this is because many motorists simply do not bother to shop around, and instead just accept what their provider puts in front of them.
That’s why it’s never a good idea to accept a renewal quote before you’ve gone online to see if you can get a better deal from a rival. The reason the price you ended up paying after shopping around was almost a third more than last year is more to do with the car-insurance market in general than your own personal circumstances.
2010 saw huge premium rises for all drivers: the average increase was 38 per cent, even more than you faced. This is thought to be due to an increase in claim fraud and uninsured driving, as well as the cost of dealing with personal injury cases. MPs and the insurance industry are currently trying to tackle these issues, so hopefully the pace of cost increases will start to slow soon.
Learn more about rising car insurance premiums in our articles here:
Fraud hitting the cost of car insurance
Car insurance price rises: our reader's views
Cut your car insurance costs in 8 steps
Hi to ALL concerned. I’ve owned my present Car for 3Yrs. A BMW e46 330d Sports M-Tec 2005.
I’ve been Driving/Riding for 30Yrs, I’ve had a FULL Car/Bike Licence since I was 19Yrs Old, NO Points, FULL NO Claims, own my House & have NO Convictions. When 16 my Moped’s Insurance was £35 TFF, I KNOW own a Suzuki 1200 Bandit the last 2½Yrs, I paid £52.00 TFF, SO what PRICE HICK am I GOING to EXPECT this YEAR??? My Car Insurance last Yr was £245.00 Fully Comp, my renewal Price from the SAME Company is £350.00, Equating to 43% RISE… ‘WHY’??? When I put the same details in comparison sites the CHEAPEST was £430.00 (76% Rise). This is RIDICULOUS as I ONLY do 2-3K a Yr. My Car Tax has gone from £184.00 to £200.00 (9% Rise) as the Tax Bands have been Re-Defined, YET has VERY LOW Emissions. So I shall KNOW go away & count my Pennies & CRY… As for saying there are LOTS of Un-Insured Drivers; the Police use ANPR & have the POWER to Sieze these Cars & CRUSH them, its ALL on a Data Base, Fraudulent Claims for Injuries are encouraged by Unscrupulous Dr’s & Solicitor’s as they benefit Financially with EACH Claim. SHOULDN’T Insurance be assessed on a Personal Basis (Like it’s meant to be)??? WHY should the MASSES be PUNISHED because of the FEW!!!
Posted by: Stephen | 02/15/2011 at 01:25 PM
iv been driving for 20 years, iv got a fiat stilo and i was paying around £270.00 a year since 2008, then 2009 it went up to £570.00 a big price diffrence, i was bloody annoyed as i too have not been in any accident or made any claims in the last 5 years then this year its gone up to £800.00, i work for public sector and i havnt had a wage increase since 2004 and iam finding it very difficult to afford to have a car but i siriously need it for work. any answers from anyone?
Posted by: nico | 08/12/2011 at 05:43 PM
Yes, you should really shop around when it comes to any kind of insurance. Chances are, there are better insurance plans out there than the last one you ran into.
Posted by: car finance | 08/19/2011 at 02:22 AM
I noticed that too.... that's why doing your research to get the cheapest quote that may be available to you is a big factor.
Posted by: Connie @ tires grand rapids mi | 08/19/2011 at 07:48 AM
You're actually lucky. In some countries like the UK, car insurance premiums reach steeper heights over silly stipulations such as car towing service coverage.
Posted by: auto finance | 08/24/2011 at 06:39 AM
It is time those responsible for fake driving crashes were fully identified and fully exposed with a life ban from any driving and if this is ignored then a jail sentence and withdrawal from any public funds, hand-outs and benefits. Why should the law abiding public pay anything to keep,them alive...even in jail! They don`t have any concern for us.
Posted by: archi | 09/13/2011 at 02:59 PM