Car insurance premiums set to SKYROCKET to record high in 2018

Car insurance premium costsGETTY

Car inusrance premiums expected to skyrocket to £900 on average in 2018

Car insurance premiums are expected to hit a record high in 2018 with average prices expected to reach £900. 

Currently drivers are paying £827 on average, according to Confused.com’s latest car insurance price index (Q4 2017), powered by Willis Towers Watson, which is an increase of eight per cent since 2016 – around £60 more. 

In December 2017 of £3 (0.4 per cent), on top of fuel costs rising by 0.5p for petrol and 0.7p for diesel over the past week. 

One problem for drivers is that auto-renewing their policy and staying loyal to one insurer won’t necessarily make the premium cheaper. 

In fact, last year it was revealed that drivers who auto-renew their premium are missing out on almost £300 of savings by swapping insurer. 

Premiums are set to reach their most expensive levels ever by the end of 2018 and are just £31 short of the highest average price in 2011 (Q2, £858)

This is in part due to the consistent increase of car insurance premiums over the past two years. 

Over this period of time, average premiums have risen by 23 per cent in the UK. 

Despite the EU gender directive, which prohibits insurers from assessing a driver’s risk based on their gender, male motorists are still paying more on average then female drivers. 

It looks like the average cost of car insurance is going to be over £900 in 2018

Louise O’Shea, CEO at Confused


Male drivers are edging closer to the £900 mark and are paying £878 on average for their car insurance – £114 more than female motorists who are paying £764 on average

Since the directive was introduced five years ago the gap between premium costs of men and women have narrowed in certain age brackets. 

Before the legislation was introduced 17-20 year old male drivers were paying up to £1,787 more than female drivers of the same age (Q1 2011). 

This gap has, however, now been reduced by 40 per cent to £711 (£2,529 vs £1,818). 

The EU directive has conversely had a negative affect on male driver aged between 41-45 years old, who were paying £7 less than women five years ago and are now paying £97 more. 

It is still young drivers bearing the brunt of the high premiums with drivers aged between 17-19 paying over £2,000 on average.

Despite younger drivers still forking out the highest premiums, it is drivers over 60 that faced the largest percentage rise by 13 per cent year-on-year.

Louise O’Shea, CEO at Confused.com, says: “It looks like the average cost of car insurance is going to be over £900 in 2018 – the highest ever!

Male driverGETTY

Male drivers on average are still paying more than women for insurance cover

“The good news is that insurers now have to show us what we paid for car insurance last year. 

“Therefore, it’s never been easier for drivers to check what they paid then and compare it to what they are asking you to pay now.

“January is always a difficult month after the excess of Christmas and that is true for drivers’ wallets too. 

“The team and I at Confused.com want to help, and are guaranteeing to beat the price your insurer is charging you.  

“Please take a few minutes to check your letter and get a new price from Confused.com.

“We could easily save you almost £300. A much better start to 2018!”