Car insurance premiums fall – but look set to bounce back up again

Car insurance premiums fell in the first three months of this year but the respite for drivers could be brief.

The average cost of a comprehensive car insurance policy for Scottish drivers, based on the five cheapest quotes, fell by 0.4 per cent to £803.74 in the first three months of this year, putting an end to more than three years of relentless price increases. The UK wide average was down 1.1 per cent, according to the AA’s latest British insurance Premium Index.

Male drivers aged 17 to 22 saw premiums fall by almost 1 per cent, although they still pay more than double any other group.

However, premiums for young women have gone up by almost 5 per cent as insurers began pricing in rules being introduced in December banning the use of gender in setting premiums.

And Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, said the main factors behind the surge in premiums over the past three years will drive them up again.

“The industry is still having to deal with fraud as well as increasing numbers of personal injury claims, despite the number of crashes on Britain’s roads falling. Industry costs continue to rise at around 10 per cent a year,” he says.