Car Insurance Premiums fall

The latest Sainsbury's Bank Car Insurance Index, which looks at premiums in a six month period (and cites a number of sources), reveals that between August 2005 and January 2006, the average car insurance premium fell slightly from £470.17 to £462.15. However, depending on your age and where you live, premiums may vary more dramatically.

The Index, which tracks car insurance industry premiums for a number of different categories of motorists, reports that in January this year the average premium for those under the age of 25 was £1,048, down from £1,091 in August 2005. The corresponding figures for motorists aged over 65 were £327.13 and £342.49, a fall of nearly 4.5%, which was the highest for any group of motorists.

On a regional basis, London, not surprisingly, is the most expensive place in Britain to insure your car - the average premium there in January being £559.31. This compared to £326.15 in East Anglia. But East Anglia and the North East were the only areas to see car insurance premiums rise between August 2005 and January 2006. Scotland meanwhile saw the biggest fall (down almost 3%).

Richard Clark, Sainsbury's car insurance manager makes the point that competition in the car insurance marketplace is strong; so it pays to shop around for cover. However, despite this, the bank estimates that as many as 19% of motorists only obtain one quote when they purchase car insurance. And 48% simply renew their existing policy.

Click here for more on sainsbury's car insurance