Drivers hit by car insurance rise
Motorists are being hit financially as new figures showed the start of the year saw a steep rise in car insurance prices.
According to the Confused.com/EMB Car Insurance Price Index, costs soared by 4.3% in the first quarter of 2010 which took the annual increase since March last year up to 14.3%.
But despite the added expense for drivers the figure was an improvement from the 6.4% increase seen in the final three month of 2009.
Overall the average quoted premium rose to £524 at the end of March this year. This was an increase of £21 in the last quarter and £66 over the past year.
Simon Lamble, product director at Confused.com, said: "These figures come from over 13 million real quotes on Confused.com, so they give a true barometer of the state of the market. We expect that the price rises taking place across all age groups will cause even more consumers to seek good value alternatives when their policies come up for renewal."
Mr Lamble added: "The absence of Quinn UK will also have a small but noticeable impact, increasing premiums still further, especially for young drivers."
Generally, 17-20 year olds saw the biggest increase in the quarter (6.6%). However over the course of the whole year it was 26-30 year old women who were the hardest hit, with a 17.3% annual increase.
EMB partner, Peter Lee, said: "In pure monetary terms, younger females still pay less and younger females cost insurers less overall in claims than younger men. But the recent larger increases affecting women suggest that many insurers are narrowing this price differential between the sexes at younger ages."