Cheap Car Insurance Quotes in the West Midlands

West Midlands, England Car Insurance Costs

In a comprehensive review by NimbleFins car insurance experts, it was discovered that certain car insurance providers in the West Midlands can charge 2X as much as cheaper quotes. This finding is supported by the comprehensive survey by NimbleFins' comparison engine partner, which demonstrated that comparing car insurance quotes can save you up to £515.

In the West Midlands, the average cost of cheap comprehensive car insurance for our sample driver was 29% more expensive than the national average which is now £559. This would put typical West Midlands car insurance at around £718 per year—although this can vary highly by area. Let's try to understand why by digging into some risk factors that contribute to car insurance rates. For this analysis, we'll look at:

First, how does the West Midlands compare to other regions? The West Midlands ranked 6th riskiest out of the 9 regions in England. The West Midlands has a moderate rate of collisions per mile driven (378 per billion miles), a relatively high rate of vehicle offences (e.g. car thefts) at 6.7 per 1,000 people and the average number of points per licence is 0.062, as you can see in the table below.

In the final column, we include an average of the how far each risk factor is from the average across geographies. This is just a rough way to get an idea of how risky one area is compared to another overall—and provides a tool for ranking the regions. As you can see, the West Midlands overall is completely typical and average in terms of risks related to car insurance claims—in terms of rate of collisions, vehicle thefts and drivers with points on their licence.

Is this a perfect metric? No. Does it give us a picture of driving risks assessed by insurers? Some idea, surely.

Car insurance rates will be higher or lower in an area if insurers view the risk factors as being higher or lower. This could be a combination of odds of a claim and also typical payouts per claim (for example, due to higher or lower average car values). We've just looked at a few factors here.

Cheap Car Insurance Quotes by Local Area

Now, let's compare these same three car insurance risk factors across local areas in the West Midlands. Which areas are the riskiest, and are therefore more likely to have higher car insurance rates? As above, we compare rates of collision, vehicle crime and drivers with points.

The "riskiest" area overall is Birmingham. The highest collision rate in the West Midlands (628 collisions per billion miles), and high theft rates (10 per 1,000 poeple) mean car insurance in Birmingham is likely to be more expensive.

The "least risky" local area overall is Shropshire. While the area doesn't have the lowest of any one metric, overall across the three metrics it presents as the least risky. The area with the lowest collision rate in the West Midlands is actually Telford and Wrekin.

What is considered "Vehicle Crime"? Vehicle crime essentially includes theft from a vehicle and theft of a vehicle. In general, theft from a vehicle is 5X more common than theft of a vehicle.

Comprehensive cover is often the best value. Our pricing analysis showed that Third Party Only cover costs 2X as much as Comprehensive cover in the West Midlands—£1,997 on average for TPO cover vs. £995 for Comprehensive cover for a sample driver—making Comprehensive much better value for money in most cases. This may seem counterintuitive, but there must be statistical data showing that car owners who seek out comprehensive cover are more careful when it comes to driving and securing their cars.

These are just sample prices—the cheapest or best car insurance brand for you might be a different company not mentioned here. And for reference, compare these prices to what neighbors in the East Midlands pay for their car insurance here.

West Midlands, England Car Insurance Brokers

Independent car insurance brokers can be useful resources for West Midlands drivers who want to discuss their insurance options, need specialist cover or who simply aren't comfortable buying a policy online or even perhaps over the phone.

However, you might pay more to a broker—they may work only with a selection of insurance companies and may not be able to find the cheapest plan for you, plus they often charge an arrangement fee and/or higher admin and cancellation fees.

If you decide to use a broker, be sure to enquire about the setup/arrangement fees, admin fees, renewal fees and cancellation fees before buying a policy.

FAQs

Methodology

To determine how car insurance rates can vary for cities like Birmingham, Staffordshire, Coventry, Dudley, Shropshire in the West Midlands, we gathered data on collision rate from the Department for Transport, points on licences from the DVLA and rates of vehicle crime from police forces (via the Home Office).

We separately looked for cheap car insurance quotes for the West Midlands. It is notable that some brands only offer cover in certain neighbourhoods, perhaps in areas from which they expect lower claims.

To find rates for your car insurance, click below:

Note regarding savings figures: *For information on the latest saving figures, pay-less-than figures, and pay-from figures used for promotional purposes, please click here.