The latest car insurance price index analysis from comparison site Confused, shows that the average premium for drivers now sits at £550, compared to £522 a year ago.

Price difference between regions

Although the overall average cost is up, the price you pay can be dramatically different depending on where you live in the UK.

Londoners now pay an average of £864, an annual increase of £18 and a quarterly change of a whopping £39 or 5%. At the other end of the spectrum, the Scottish Borders pay just £370 on average but this still represents an annual increase of 5%.

The highest increase is for drivers in the South West with an upward price change of 6% year on year with a 7% increase from last quarter alone, although they are still one of the lowest at £376.

The price difference is equally varied within Wales itself with a significant North-South divide. Mid and North Wales pay an average of £383 but drivers in South Wales pay £445, an average of 16% more.

A similar pattern emerges between the East and West of England with the East paying and average of £463 and the West paying £45 less a year at £418.

With the exception of London in the south, it's northern England that gets hit the hardest with premiums in Manchester, Merseyside, Leeds, Sheffield and the Midlands all paying more than £600.

Age difference

Perhaps the most interesting statistic coming out of the current analysis is that 17-year-old drivers have seen their cost drop 7% to the lowest on record with an average price of £1,166. People in their thirties pay an average of £750 and older drivers aged 69+ pay just £316.

Men pay more

Finally, the price difference gap between men and women is still noticeably wide with male drivers (£587) paying £100 more than female drivers (£487). This price difference between genders has always existed.

It is illegal for insurance companies to apply different rates based on gender but the difference is explained due to the higher group, higher rated cars that men tend to drive and the fact that men generally work in high-risk occupations.