The Insurance Storm

A series of factors are accumulating to create a perfect storm in the motor insurance market, potentially pushing up the price of car insurance for the public.

No win, no fee personal injury claims have increased dramatically over the years and have been blamed by many, including The Justice Secretary Ken Clarke, for recent increases in the cost of car insurance.

Earlier in the year we wrote about the European Court of Justice ruling that insurers can’t adjust premium prices based on gender, suggesting prices for women may increase by 25%.

In August this year, the Insurance Fraud Bureau announced it had 29 live organised insurance fraud operations with 17 different Police Forces, focused on fraud valued at approximately £59.5 million. Many of these operations involve crash for cash activities.

While in the short-term like-for-like car insurance prices are likely to rise, positive inroads are being made against fraud with recent crash for cash convictions. The Motor Insurance Database is also being used to identify uninsured drivers, which long-term should benefit honest insurance policy holders.

Even though gender will no longer be used as a pricing factor, there are many other aspects motor insurers can use to calculate your premium, with options available to try to get you a better price. These may include multi-car policies and low mileage policies. Please see our motor trade insurance and fleet insurance pages for more information and contact us should you require a quote.