Motor insurance comparison siteTiger.co.uk today published its Tiger Watch results for April 2011. Tiger Watch is a monthly car insurance price monitor based on the analysis of hundreds of car insurance policy quotes each month.
The monitor showed that car insurance prices for April 2011 were 30.8% higher than for the same month in 2010 and 4% higher than a month ago, the highest monthly increase recorded in 2011. These figures confirm that car insurance price increases are continuing to hit Britain’s motorists, who are also suffering from well documented price increases at the nation’s fuel pumps.
A spokesperson for Tiger.co.uk commented on the results: “Our analysis shows that car insurance inflation continues to be a major financial issue for the majority of UK drivers. Within our analysis inflation in the last month has been particularly prevalent for younger female drivers and we may well be seeing here the early impact of the recent EU gender ruling that, from December 2012, will outlaw the use as gender as an insurance risk factor in its own right”.
Having seen a slowing down of the rate of inflation over the previous 6 months, the 4% rise in insurance rates between March and April is generally bad news for motorists.
Tiger.co.uk‘s spokesperson continued: “Looking forward to the rest of 2011 we would expect to see continued inflation in the market over the next three months and then more stability returning from August onwards. Overall we are forecasting that rates will rise by a minimum of 20% across 2011 as a whole.
There is a danger here though that the high levels of increases will lead to an increase in the number of uninsured drivers on the roads and this, in turn, could put further pressure on insurers to increase prices. We really need the government’s proposed crackdown on uninsured drivers and on other areas of insurance fraud to take effect as soon as possible so as not to further penalise the country’s law-abiding motorists.
Our advice for all motorists is to shop around for insurance using an independent comparison site like Tiger.co.uk and to take care when comparing policies in order to make sure that you are comparing on a like-for-like basis ” apparently cheap car insurance quotes may not be all they seem! Make sure you understand exactly what “extras” are included in your policy and how much you are paying for them. Finally, try to avoid paying in monthly instalments as most insurers charge relatively high levels of interest on this payment method ” you may find a loan or a credit card a cheaper option”.
Tiger.co.uk is a trading name of Call Connection Ltd. Tiger.co.uk is a UK based, independent price comparison site, offering insurance quotes from over 130 motor insurance brands. Call Connection Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (number 308374).
Name: Andrew Goulborn
Website: http://www.tiger.co.uk
Email: ag@tiger.co.uk
Phone: 01473 418513
Address: Saxon House
Cromwell Square
City: Ipswich
County/State: Suffolk
Postcode/ZIP: ip11ts
Country: United Kingdom
