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GoCompare comments on ABI’s latest Motor Insurance Premium Tracker
GoCompare is warning drivers to avoid auto-renewal complacency as the latest ABI Motor Insurance Premium Tracker shows premiums almost unchanged from the previous quarter and year on year.
According to the ABI, the average price that drivers are paying for their motor insurance continues to remain at a four-year low. The average price paid for comprehensive motor insurance in the third quarter of 2020 was £460 – the lowest level in four years. The figure remains unchanged from the previous quarter and is £8 lower than in the same quarter last year.
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.
Lee Griffin, CEO and one of the founders of GoCompare, commented, “Drivers will welcome news that car insurance premiums are fairly static at the moment. The pressure on many household budgets means that rising bills are the last thing people need. However, today’s news doesn’t guarantee that your insurance company isn’t going to increase your premium at renewal or that you couldn’t get a better deal by shopping around.
“Premium indices like the ABI’s are helpful, but the danger is that they tend to summarise a very complex picture into a soundbite. Sadly, it isn’t a case of everyone’s premiums being frozen for another year. Far from it. Individual insurers have their own pricing pressures and appetite for risk, which means premiums change constantly. Even if your renewal shows your premium isn’t going to change for the next 12 months, there is a very good chance that another insurer will offer you the same terms for a cheaper price. And you’ll only know for definite by shopping around and comparing deals.
“This is no time for complacency or leaving things to chance. It takes five minutes to check if your renewal premium is a good deal or not. We know that many insurers have reduced their new business premiums, therefore there could be some very significant savings for customers who shoparound and switch at renewal.”
Currently, the average GoCompare Car Insurance customer is saving up to £277 by switching provider.1. The company is also offering £250 free excess cover when you switch car insurance through its comparison service.
While shopping around and switching insurer is the best advice for most people who are still working, using their cars and able to pay premiums, GoCompare has the following tips for anyone worried about paying for their car insurance at the moment:
- Speak to your current insurer as soon as possible and ask them what they can do to help in terms of reducing or deferring premiums.
- This may include lowering your stated annual mileage to see if it reduces your premium. There should be no administrative charge for doing this.
- Check what ‘add-ons’ you are paying for – for example, key cover – which you may be prepared to remove from your policy to save money. Again, there should be no administrative charge for doing this.
- You could reduce your cover level to third party, fire and theft to see if this lowers your premium. Remember though, if you lower your cover level and then incur accidental or malicious damage, you won’t be covered. Again, confirm with your insurer that there will be no administrative charge for doing this.
- If you can keep your car off the road temporarily, then you could SORN the vehicle. But beware, this would mean that you will have no insurance cover at all. You may still want cover for fire and theft (sometimes called a ‘laid-up’ policy).
For more information on Coronavirus and your money visit: https://www.gocompare.com/coronavirus-insurance-money/
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For further information please contact:
Gordon, Jason or Liz at MAW Communications on 01603 505 845
Keep up-to-date with GoCompare on Twitter; @GoCompare
Notes to editors
1. 51% could save up to £277 based on independent research by Consumer Intelligence, conducted between 1 August to 31 August 2020
GoCompare
GoCompare is a comparison website that enables people to compare the costs and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products and energy tariffs.
GoCompare does not charge people to use its services, and it does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. GoCompare makes its money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on its various comparison services when a customer buys through the site.
When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping people to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. GoCompare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest, and has teamed up with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional policy information into a number of its insurance comparison services. This allows people to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.
GoCompare is the only comparison website to be invited to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
For more information visit www.gocompare.com and www.gocogroup.com
