Car insurance premiums sets to fall

Prices set to U-turn for the first time in three years as new legislation comes into force.

Motorists can look forward to a fall in their annual car insurance costs as premiums begin to steadily fall.

The reversal has been largely put down to new Government legislation brought into tackle "crash-for-cash" fraudsters who costing the insurance industry millions of pounds in claims. Criminal gangs would target motorists in such a way as the innocent driver would have no other maneuver other than to literally crash into the back of the car in front. Automatic fault would lie with the victim, who's insurance company would be subjected to a large whiplash claim from the person in the car that had been struck.

The Government has also said that it will look at the Ogden Rate discount within the next 12 months, which could result in insurers paying out less money when a claim is made on a policy.

But the Government has also helped increase costs in recent years by raising the rate of Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) which every motorist pays no matter what the final premium fees.

The average premium in Cheshire is £735 per year, which is down £57 on the quarter, and £12 annually. In the wider region of the North West there's been a £28 annual fall, putting the average premium at £769 with a fall of £77 in in the last quarter alone.

However, new research from price comparison website Confused-dot-com has revealed that customers who automatically renew with their existing insurer are not benefiting from cost savings, and may even see their insurance premium go up by as much as £45 per year.

They're also reminding drivers about the potential benefits of investing in an on-board camera that records your journey. Not all insurance company's will reward you with a cost saving if you have one, but some do see them as a benefit to proving fault in the eventuality of an accident claim.

Amanda Stretton, Motoring Editor at the website, told us:

"In fact the average driver we spoke to said their auto-renewal on their premium had gone up. Which begs the question why more drivers aren't shopping around... and looking at a different policy that might reward them if they had a dash-cam."