The car insurance price index from Confused.com has shown a drop in the average cost of car insurance for the last 12 months.

The latest results that cover the first three months of 2018, now show that the average premium is down £13 (2%). However, the annual cost for car insurance is still an eye-watering £768.

The analysis, which looks at over six million quotes for the quarter, highlights that the Government reforms on how whiplash costs are calculated may have been a factor.

Price Difference By Age

However, not everybody is seeing the benefit of the reductions. People aged 68 saw their premiums sore by over 8% or £40 since last year. Those aged 21 also saw premium increases of £38 to an average of £1,621.

Drivers aged 17 get the largest reduction. Their premiums fell by £118 (-6%) from last year. However, the average policy price for a 17 year old driver is a huge £2,003.

Drivers aged 51 pay £666 on average and those aged 34 pay £655.

Price Difference By Gender

Male drivers aged 17 – 20 are paying the most with an average of £2,348 compared to females who pay £1,699.

Female drivers in the 61-65 age bracket pay the least amount with an average premium of £363.

Overall, men are paying an average of £810 compared to women who pay average premiums of £715. A price difference of £95.

Price Difference By Region

Scottish drivers saw an increase of £32 (+6%) since a year ago with an average of £579. Central and North Wales also saw costs go up by £10 to £629.

The biggest decrease was seen by London motorists who saved £81 in the last 12 months. Inner London drivers still pay over a £1,000 on average for their car insurance.

Industry View

Andrew Bowen, CEO of Brilliant Price and former co-founder and Director of Hastings Direct said of the latest index report:

“It’s very welcome to finally see some downward movement in prices albeit quite small at this stage. However, in order to take advantage of lower costs you should shop around and compare prices from a range of providers. You could be quite shocked at how much you can save just by doing this.”

Louise O’Shea, CEO of Confused.com said:

“Being loyal doesn’t always pay, so to get the message across to cost-burdened drivers the team and I are guaranteeing to beat the price insurers are charging at point of renewal”.