£32 drop in average price of motor insurance in the first quarter of the year, with the average price paid for cover at its lowest in nearly five years.
The average price motorists paid for their motor insurance in the first quarter of 2021 showed its biggest quarterly fall, currently standing at its lowest level since 2016 according to the ABI’s latest Motor Insurance Premium Tracker, published today.
The ABI’s Tracker is the only survey that looks at the price consumers pay for their cover, rather than the price they are quoted.
- The average price paid for comprehensive motor insurance in the first quarter of this year was £436. This was down £32 (7%) on quarter 4, 2020, being the biggest quarter on quarter drop since the ABI started collecting the data in 2012.
- The average premium paid in quarter 1 fell by 8% on the same quarter, 2020.
- The average price paid for motor insurance, at £436, stands at its lowest level in nearly five years.
The fall in the quarter in part reflects insurers passing on cost savings from fewer claims settled during previous national lockdowns, and fewer young drivers, who are likely to pay higher motor premiums, on the road due to lockdown driving test restrictions. It comes despite the continued cost pressures for insurers of rising repair bills.
Laura Hughes, ABI’s Manager, General Insurance, said:
“While the national lockdown during the period may have led to fewer road journeys, it is good to see that during the first quarter of the year motorists continued to get the best deals from a competitive motor insurance market. The next few months will see significant developments in the motor market, as we cautiously emerge from the pandemic, returning to more usual driving patterns, and with the introduction, at the end of May, of the official injury claims portal that will simplify the whiplash claims process, while ensuring proportionate compensation for genuine claimants.
“And while underlying cost pressures around rising repair bills will remain, the market will stay competitive, enabling motorists to shop around for the best deal for their needs.”
The claims portal
On 31 May there will be an official injury claims portal. The result of many years of hard work from Government, the insurance industry and administrators it aims to control excessive costs associated with whiplash claims through a simple and clear process, while ensuring proportionate compensation is paid to genuinely injured claimants. It will support legally unrepresented claimants through the process of making a claim for soft tissue injuries following a road traffic accident. Claimants will still be permitted to have legal representation to support making a claim through the Portal should they wish.
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