Last week, the comparison site Confused.com found that the average price of a car insurance premium has hit a new record high of £924, up from an average of 58 per cent (£338) compared to this time last year. It’s the largest annual rise since the company started tracking premium prices in 2006.
One of the reasons blamed for the sharp rises is more purchases of electric cars, given that they use fairly new technology, something Matt Hone, 35, knows all too well about. He owns a two-year-old Tesla Model 3 Long Range and his insurance renewal rose from £1,500 to £2,500 in September.
He says that his first insurer offered him around £3,000 per year and wasn’t able to reduce it below £2,700. “They didn’t give me a reason. When you try to ask them, they just say insurance goes up, insurance goes down. They never give more than that,” he tells i. Eventually he went with a slightly cheaper insurer.
James Anelay, 30, from Ellesmere Port, recently put his Nissan E-nv200 up for auction after his insurance went through the roof. The annual cost of protecting the vehicle, which he and his wife converted to a micro camper, went from £787 to £1,380 in 12 months. Although they could have shopped around for a better deal, they have decided to sell the vehicle.
He adds that they enjoyed the Nissan, but that when you factor in “insurance, maintenance and MoTs”, among other things, “it’s going to be much cheaper for us to use public transport, which we are currently enjoying”.
James, his wife and two small children also live in and work from home on a narrowboat – making travel on the waterways a viable alternative to driving. So passionate are they about this way of life that they run a business helping others find canal boat holidays.
James adds that selling the family EV has been tricky. “When selling the vehicle multiple buyers pulled out due to the cost of insurance”, he says. He speculates as to why insurance is so difficult for this type of car.
“Being EV, we have only a small slice of the market, then the fact it’s got modifications it gets more complicated still and the potential pool of insurers that will quote is that bit smaller.”
Matt agrees that “a lot of insurers still don’t really understand electric vehicles”, adding that when he first got one five years ago “most insurers wouldn’t touch them”, with only DirectLine and Churchill offering a reasonable premium. “Now there’s a lot more”, he says, “but they’ve all increased their prices.” Still, he has no regrets, telling i he had an interest in Tesla, and was fortunate enough to afford an “aspiration car”.
Daisy Ferns, aged 37 from Derby, Founder of Lavender Blue Sleep Consulting, owns an Audi Q2 black edition (petrol), having previously had a VW T-Roc. She says that when she first bought the car last month she “was told that the premiums hadn’t gone up. When I checked comparison websites they were coming in around £700 plus so I stuck with my current insurer, Direct Line.”
Instead, in less than a month, the price went from £275 a year to £405 per year. Like Matt, she’s uncertain as to why the bills have gone up so much but thinks it may be due to “increased bills that garages are having to pay and the cost of parts.”
She adds: “For a mum like me, doing school and nursery runs plus taking the children to clubs and outings, it’s not an option to not run a car. My husband is in the office five days a week from 7.15am, so we wouldn’t be able to share.
“However, I know one of the school mums who has had to give up her car, and therefore her job, because of how much it is costing her to keep it on the road. Others I know are seriously considering car sharing and/or hiring cars instead of keeping them, because combining the rising cost of insurance with fuel and tax it just doesn’t make sense to own one.”
Consumer lawyer Dean Dunham said: “Unfortunately, there is no law preventing insurance providers from hiking up premiums for the likes of electric vehicles, hence the importance of shopping around for the best deal.
“However, when you come to the end of an insurance contract your provider can no longer offer you a renewal deal that is less favourable than deals they are offering new customers; which used to be a common practice. I always advise consumers in the market for a new car to obtain an insurance quote before committing to the purchase, especially if the car is electric, so there are no surprises post-purchase.”
Get in touch
We want to hear from you about any thoughts, worries or trends related to money that you might have noticed.
Is there a story you want to tell or a company you think has wronged you? Do you want to perhaps highlight something you think isn’t receiving enough coverage?
Let us know: money@inews.co.uk