Fraud blamed for steep rise in the cost of car insurance

A rise in fraudulent claims is being blamed for biggest increase in insurance premiums ever recorded by the AA.

The motoring organisation's Insurance Premium Index revealed that the average comprehensive policy had risen 11.5 percent to £704 in the last quarter.

Young drivers, already burdened with higher premiums, were forced to endure an even more aggressive rise, as third party, fire and theft policies climbed by 15.9 percent over the same period, meaning they faced an average cost of £1,224.99 for insurance.