Average Cost of Car Insurance UK (April 2024)

In the 4th quarter of 2023, the average cost paid for car insurance in the UK was £627 a year according to the ABI—an increase of 34% in one year. While motor insurance rates had dropped in recent years, car insurance is now rising and is one of the biggest costs of owning and running a car. Here's how your premium may differ depending on factors like the type of car you drive, your age and even where you live.

Table of Contents

• How Much is Car Insurance in the UK?
  • Average Cost of UK Car Insurance, by Age
  • Average Cost of UK Car Insurance, by Car Model
  • Average Cost of UK Car Insurance, by Car Insurance Group
  • Average Cost of Car Insurance, by City
• NEW POLL: Is price the most important factor for you when buying car insurance?
• FAQ
• Methodology

How Much is UK Car Insurance?

The average car insurance cost was £627 between October and December 2023 for comprehensive cover—up 34% from £470 a year earlier (Q4 2022) and the highest since the ABI started collecting this data back in 2012. You can see the steep rise in the chart below.

How much is car insurance UK?

Real-life data collected by the NimbleFins car insurance experts shows that in 2024, prices have dropped from the worst levels that were recorded in October 2023. With motorists facing ever-increasing rates over the past year, it's good to see weakening in premium prices—in the middle of April 2024 they appear to be a touch lower than at the start of the year.

In part, this is due to softening price pressures. Inflationary pressures were largely to blame for the rise, with the cost of paint increasing 16% and spare parts up 11% from Q3 2022 to Q3 2023. Other costs, largely driven by energy and labour costs, also rose. Car theft is also a big issue: payouts for vehicle thefts rose 35% in Q3 2023 (vs Q3 2022). Jonathan Fong, the ABI’s Manager, General Insurance Policy, said:

"Significant and sustained cost pressures faced by insurers, such as a 31% rise in repair costs over the last year, have impacted on the cost of cover."

An additional factor for car insurance costs stabilising is that many of the large insurance companies are now offering new tiers of comprehensive car insurance that offer less coverage features for a lower cost. For example, we're seeing Admiral's new 'Essential' tier on comparison sites now. IT is important to note that these new plans may be missing features like windscreen and courtesy car cover. Read more about all of this here.

Frustratingly for those keen to support EV take up, the ABI reported that electric vehicles are ~25% more expensive to repair than their petrol equivalents and take 14% longer to fix.

Costs of new policies vs renewals

Average costs vary depending on whether you're renewing or buying a new policy, with new policies typically costing more. Back in Q2 2023, for instance, the average price paid for a renewal was £471 while the average premium for a new policy was £566. (The ABI didn't produce this data cut for Q3 or Q4 2023.) The Financial Conduct Authority brought in rules on January 1 2022 to stop insurers charging existing customers more than new customers, which is part of the reason that renewal rates are lower than new policy rates. But prices are now rising for both.

Cost are highly variable

It is important to understand that the cost of car insurance varies a lot from person to person, and car to car. Your age, car and location can affect the price you pay by up to 500% or more. So can how you use your car—with delivery drivers and couriers paying more than £4,000 a year for their hire & reward car insurance.

Here's the real data on the actual average price paid by motorists for comprehensive car insurance in the UK by quarter over the past few years:

Is this how much you should expect to pay for car insurance? Not necessarily. For starters, the figures above reflect just one type of car insurance—comprehensive. Despite this being the 'best' type of cover, the other types (Third Party Only and Third Party, Fire & Theft) can cost more.

Also, with costs on the rise, we're seeing rates rise nearly every single week! Our weekly testing of the major car insurance providers Direct Line, Aviva, LV=, AXA and Admiral showed an average rate for their cheapest cover for our sample driver of £489, which is up around 9% from the 2nd quarter of the year. But as we head into December 2023, prices have thankfully settled and not moved much in the past few weeks. You can read more about that testing in our article on comparing cheap car insurance.

And the cost of car insurance varies widely from person to person, for example ranging from as little as £350 up to £2,000 a year or more for comprehensive cover. Young driver insurance premiums are typically high, over £1,000, as are premiums for those who have a bad driving history (e.g., convictions and at-fault accidents) and/or drive an expensive car.

To better understand how much you'll need to pay for car insurance, we researched UK comprehensive car cover from some of the top 10 car insurance companies in the UK. First, we looked at how prices change as you age from a young driver to a middle-aged driver to a senior driver—rates generally fall between the ages of 20 and 50, then rise again for drivers over 60 years old.

We also checked car insurance prices for cheap comprehensive motor cover for the 5 most popular car models: Ford Focus, Ford Fiesta, VW Golf, Nissan Qashai and Mercedes Benz A Class. Use this information to help spot a good deal and know when you should look for a cheaper policy.

Average Car Insurance Costs by Age UK

To see how driver age impacts the cost of comprehensive car insurance, we gathered quotes for the UK's most popular car, a Ford Fiesta, across a range of ages for a male driver. Rates typically drop throughout adulthood until around 60 years of age. In our study, premiums dropped 45% between the ages of 20 and 55, then rose again by 60% from age 55 to 75. Prices are higher for younger and older drivers because insurance companies perceive a higher risk of road traffic accidents amongst these age groups.

How Car Insurance Prices Change with Driver Age

Average Car Insurance Costs UK, by Car Make and Model

Not surprisingly, we found that car insurance prices in the UK increase with the make, model and trim level of a car, as well as the underlying value of the car. This makes sense since a more expensive car requires a larger payout by the insurer in case of theft, and typically costs more to repair in case of damage. For example, a 45-year-old driver would pay a price of around £575 to insure a £12,000 Ford Fiesta with a comprehensive policy, or £812 to insure a £33,000 Mercedes Benz A Class 220.

Generally speaking, expensive cars cost more to insure

For reference, the cost of insurance for an electric car will typically be higher (around 13%, according to our analysis)—in part because electric cars cost more to replace than comparable internal combustion engine cars (e.g., petrol or diesel cars) due to higher purchase prices.

Keep in mind that the higher your annual mileage, the more you'll pay for car insurance. For more information on getting the most for your money, see our article on cheap car insurance companies. You can also read about how to save money on car insurance with our top tips.

Motorcycle insurance is cheaper than car insurance and starts from around £340 per year for the ever-popular Honda PCX.

Average Car Insurance Costs UK, by Car Insurance Group

Each car in the UK has an 'insurance group rating' which is used by underwriters to calculate car insurance premiums. There are 50 insurance groups, with the lower-numbered groups being cheaper to insure. The insurance group number depends on factors that determine how costly a car is to insure from the insurance company's point of view, such as the value of the vehicle, cost of parts, security features, odds of theft and more.

When trying to save money on car insurance, it can really help to choose a car in a lower insurance group. In fact, the average cost of a car for insurance group 1 is more than 50% lower than prices for insurance group 50 cars.

Another way to look at this is the £ savings you can achieve with a lower insurance group car. A 20-year-old would save around £1,000 a year by choosing an insurance group 1 car instead of an insurance group 50 car; a 50-year-old would save less in £ terms since the figures are lower overall, but could still save close to £500 a year with a group 1 car. To compare average car insurance prices by insurance group, see the data estimates in the following table:

If you're concerned with the cost of car insurance and are considering buying a cheaper-to-insure car, looks for cars in lower insurance groups (e.g. groups 1 through 10). As shown in the table above, this can save you loads on car insurance premiums.

Average Car Insurance Costs UK, by City

Car insurance rates are more expensive in Manchester than in any other major town in England. We've compared the cost of car insurance for postcodes across England by averaging the 3 cheapest quotes available from our car insurance partner QuoteZone and found that Manchester drivers can pay 44% more than average. The example below shows prices for a 50-year-old driver of a 5-year-old Ford Fiesta.

Car insurance is the most expensive in Manchester, UK

Why is car insurance in Manchester so expensive? Because of higher claims rates in Manchester—theft, in particular, is an issue. In fact, the Manchester Evening News has reported that nine out of ten car thieves in Greater Manchester get away with the crime and that the number of thefts has risen by a whopping 80% from 2014 to 2018. Since car insurance companies have higher claims in Manchester than many other areas, local motorists pay the price through higher car insurance rates.

Poll: What are the most important factors when buying car insurance?

Participate in our poll so we can see what people really care about when buying car insurance. While price is clearly important to the thousands of readers who have found their way to this page, is it the most important factor?

Tell us the five most important factors for you from the list below (or tell us if there is anything else that drives your decision). Once you enter your answer the results will show so you can compare to what other people have said they find most important.

FAQ

Methodology

To determine the average cost of car insurance for UK consumers, the NimbleFins car insurance experts first collected comprehensive car insurance quotes from our car insurance partner QuoteZone. To get an idea of the true cost of a "cheap" policy, that is, how much someone might need to pay to secure cover, we averaged the 5 cheapest quotes to reflect costs for a range of policies at the low end of prices.

In order to standardize our results, we made certain assumptions about the type of plan and level of coverage sought by the average consumer. This study assumes standard comprehensive coverage and excludes optional features, like protection for a no claims bonus.

Another way we standardized our results was by holding all driver profile variables constant, except for age and make/model of car as explained above. The driver is an unmarried male who owns a 2019 model car and has been driving since 18 years of age, hasn't filed any claims, has accumulated up to 5 years of NCD (No Claims Discount), drives 5,000 miles per year and parks in a private driveway. He works indoors as a professional.