Car insurance premiums have hit an all-time high, with the average annual cost of a fully comprehensive policy rising to £703.79, a staggering leap of 40.5 percent over the last year.
Unsurprisingly it is young drivers that are taking the biggest hit, with their costs rising by 13.5 percent over the last three months, and a massive 50.9 percent over the last twelve months according to figures released by the AA. Inexperienced 17-22 year-olds will now shell out an average of £1,956 to comprehensively insure their car.
What is perhaps surprising is that the gender gap is beginning to close, but only in that costs are rising faster for girls than for boys. Young women now pay 58.7 percent more than last year, at £1,423 a year, while men's premiums rose by 46.6 percent to a whopping £2,457.
While everyone will be seeing heftier insurance premiums, the prices at the cheaper end of the market are the ones that will be seeing the largest rise. A spokesman for the AA blamed cost comparison websites, saying they had been "falsely keeping premiums down."
Beyond the deals on comparison sites, the massive rise in premiums has been put down to several factors, including the fact that the amount of money paid out for personal injury claims is rising. A crash that sees someone put into a wheelchair could end up costing the insurance company as much as £15m.
The high rise for young drivers is down to the fact that there is still a high rate of fatal accidents involving motorists under the age of 24, according to the AA. According to the organisation, 74 percent of all young adult deaths happen on the road. The average claim for male young drivers is as much as £4,473, while women aged between 30 and 50 claim an average of £1,200 in case of an accident.
The AA recommends the following to keep premiums as low as possible:
• Stay claim-free and your premiums will fall rapidly
• Avoid convictions, these significantly add to premiums
• Consider paying a higher excess to reduce your premium
• Avoid withholding information from your insurer, as the chance of being caught is high
With rising insurance costs, and fuel costs, and high unemployment among young people it's perhaps surprising that there are many young people able to afford to drive. However in rural places such as Cornwall, if you cannot drive then you are severely limited in the number of jobs you can apply for so it's a bit of a catch 22.
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