London 'most costly' for car cover

A motorist living in London faces paying almost four times the amount that a driver in the Isle of Man would spend on their car insurance, a study has revealed.

AA Insurance, which compiles an index of the typical cost of car insurance for someone who shops around, named London as the most expensive place in Britain to insure a car, followed by the postcode area of IG, which includes Ilford, Chigwell, Woodford Green, Buckhurst Hill, Loughton and Barking, with Greater Manchester in third place.

The IM (Isle of Man) postcode was found to be the cheapest place to insure a car, with the average quote for someone there who shops around standing at £231.

The next least expensive place was the postcode of KW, at the extreme north-east of Scotland, which includes Orkney, where a policy costs around £252.

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Four times more expensive in the capital

At the other end of the scale, the average cost of annual cover in London stands at £922 - almost four times the cost of insuring a car in the Isle of Man.

A spokesman for AA Insurance said that in general, someone living in the east, north-east and north of London will tend to find their car insurance is more expensive than someone living in south-west London.

Meanwhile, the typical cost of insurance in the Ilford area is £912, while a motorist living in Greater Manchester faces paying around £820.

In general, the annual cost of comprehensive car insurance cover has fallen by around £120 over the last year, to reach £504 typically, according to the AA's figures, which come amid Government moves to weed out bogus insurance claims which add to the costs of everyone's policies.

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Car insurance premiums 'falling'

According to separate figures released today by the British British Insurance Brokers' Association (Biba), the cost of home and motor insurance has fallen in real terms by 6.8% in the last year.

But Janet Connor, managing director of AA Insurance, said she does not expect the current trend for falling car insurance premiums to continue.

She said: "There are already signs that some insurers are looking to put their prices up and I believe that this time next year, the AA's index will be reflecting a rising trend.

"But I don't expect to see the sharp premium inflation we saw between 2009 and 2011, when over a 12-month period premiums rose by more than 40%."

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Factors that influence premiums

Ms Connor said that as well as taking the postcode into account when calculating car insurance premiums, the experience and age of the driver, the car model and where the car is normally kept are among the other factors considered.

She said: "The premium reflects the likelihood of a claim being made and, in some urban areas, there is much greater risk of a collision taking place, or of car crimes such as theft of or from a vehicle, uninsured driving or attempts at 'cash for crash' fraud.

"Sadly, the criminality of some people has a detrimental effect of the premiums paid by honest motorists in such places.

"But over the past year premiums have, on average, fallen in most areas of the UK and, encouragingly, some of the biggest falls have been in postcode areas that traditionally have paid the highest premiums."

Ms Connor added: "I hope that the measures being introduced by the Ministry of Justice to curb fraudulent injury claims, and continued work by the Motor Insurers' Bureau and the police to reduce the number of uninsured drivers, will help to ensure premiums in such places are affordable."

Here are the cheapest places to insure a car in Britain according to AA's figures, with the average annual cost of a premium for someone who shops around and the percentage increase or decrease in the cost seen since the previous quarter:

1. IM (Isle of Man) £231.49, minus 3.3%

2. KW (Kirkwall), £252.13, minus 1.9%

3. TR (Truro) £279.72, minus 1.8%

4. AB (Aberdeen) £285.82, minus 0.5%

5. DT (Dorchester) £286.26, minus 1.9%

6. PH (Perth) £286.26, minus 2.4%

7. EX (Exeter) £289.22, minus 1.3%

8. TA (Taunton) £291.88, minus 3.1%

9. LD (Llandudno) £292.74, minus 3.3%

10. ZE (Lerwick) £296.39, minus 4.8%

11. IV (Inverness) £297.53, minus 3.9%

12. PL (Plymouth) £299.65, minus 2.2%

13. TQ (Torquary) £300.19, minus 0.7%

14. GL (Gloucester) £301.79, minus 3.1%

15. TD (Galashiels) £302.72, minus 2.4%

And here are the most expensive places to insure a car in Britain according to AA's figures, with the average annual cost of a premium for someone who shops around and the percentage increase or decrease in the cost seen since the previous quarter:

1. London £922.44, minus 5.0%

2. IG (Ilford) £912.07, 4.5%

3. M (Manchester) £820.63, minus 4.1%

4. UB (Southall) £807.11, 3.6%

5. OL (Oldham) £794.78, minus 7.2%

6. HA (Harrow) £764.89, 0.1%

7. BL (Bolton) £736.53, minus 4.4%

8. L (Liverpool) £720.00, minus 2.4%

9. BD (Bradford) £661.79, 0.2%

10. CR (Croydon) £660.97, 1.3%

11. EN (Enfield) £623.10, 2.1%

12. BB (Blackburn) £618.89, minus 3.8%

13. RM (Romford) £608.50, 2.9%

14. SR (Sunderland) £604.99, minus 7.7%

15. TW (Twickenham) £597.05, minus 1.0%

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