This year has seen the fastest rise in premiums ever, with some drivers seeing their annual costs rocket threefold.
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You know it's serious... when it leads to questions in the House of Commons.
(Do you have something to say about this story? Tell us what you think by emailing us here. Don't forget to include 'Car Premiums' in the subject line. Watchdog will publish a selection of viewers' comments underneath each story, both throughout and after the programme is on air. Please remember to include your name as you would like to see it published).
Are the big insurers in financial trouble or something? Well, certainly not Admiral, who've just posted a 21% increase in profits and at the same time increased their average premiums by 22%. This means, for customers like Luke Cumberlidge and his girlfriend Seana, the cost of renewing with Admiral is much more.
Last year Luke paid £1,205 to insure his Audi A3 and his girlfriend's Mini on a multicar policy. This year the same policy will cost him £1,873. That's 55% more. The reason? Someone else had crashed into his car.
"I had an accident about five months ago, which wasn't my fault - a third party came into the back of my car. It's all been paid and sort of closed off, it's all been sorted out by a third party - so I haven't made a claim on my insurance... I can't possibly see how someone driving into the back of my car can affect my policy. It's not a mistake I've made, I've been an excellent driver for the last few years, I've made no mistakes and yet they treat you like this."
Insurance expert Graham Trudgill sympathises:
"We can absolutely understand Luke's point of view, this is a really big increase - almost the same as losing his entire No Claims bonus and yet it wasn't even his fault. So it is really high."
Well, if a 55% seems like a big rise, Karen Nevey's story is even more shocking. She was insured by Shelia's Wheels last year at a cost of £460.
"I went with Sheilas' Wheels because they are a well-known reputable company. I don't like changing insurance companies year by year, I like loyalty, I like to stick with an insurance company."
Karen's had an uneventful life since then. Oh sure, she's bought a new sofa. And changed her mug. But, she's still a teacher. Still lives in the same house. And still drives a Citroen. So has Sheila's Wheels' recognised her unchanged circumstances? Her loyalty? No. They've hiked her annual premium ...by 158%.
"I thought there was something wrong, I thought they'd miscalculated. I really did feel like falling on the floor with the quote, because I have never ever had a car insurance quote that high."
The company told Karen there'd had been a dramatic increase in the amount of claims in her area - and premiums had to rise to reflect this. As a result, Karen has had to look elsewhere and has now swapped insurers. No change of mind from Sheilas' Wheels - they told us their new price was justified.
Graham Trudgill thinks that such a rise is harsh:
"Karen's facing a massive increase in her insurance premium, more than doubling what it was last year and this is due to a re-evaluation of how the insurance company rate the area she lives in. We think it's extremely harsh and very unusual to see such a change."
So Admiral and Sheila's Wheels blame other drivers crashing into your car and other drivers in your neighbourhood making claims for the insurance hikes. What about Direct line? They simply blame the weather. They've increased Janine McClusky's premiums by 55%.
"To insure my car this year Direct Line have asked for an extra £300. When I asked for an explanation why, I was told it was due to the high volume of claims they'd had earlier in the year due to the snow in January and February. This is a ridiculous amount of money - how can anybody be expected to pay such a high increase?"
Well, that's a question other drivers are asking. And not just those with Direct Line.
Katherine Atkin is confused by how much her premium has risen:
"My car insurance has just gone up by over £300. I feel absolutely staggered about it - I've got seven years no claims discount, I drive really carefully, I've got quite a small car. I just can't believe it's gone up by that much."
Michael Harris, with over 33 years of no claims, feels strongly too:
"I've never, ever claimed in all my life on my insurance. I've got a clean driving licence and the insurance has shot up by £438 over a 12 month period. Nobody can tell me why - it's just ridiculous."
Heavy snow, non-fault accidents, clean driving licences - whatever the circumstance, it seems your policy is going to rise and Graeme Trudgill believes that the premium increases are inevitable:
"The bottom line is that prices are going up and that's unavoidable because of the massive costs on the industry. Previously, their earnings from their investments have propped that up but due to the economic crisis, that's reduced and were seeing a massive increase, a tripling, in body injury claims, we're seeing comparison sites keeping prices right down so they're not making the money they used to make and were seeing fraud and uninsured driving bringing in massive costs to the industry as well."
Massive costs that they're determined to pass on.
Ah, the joys of motoring....
Direct Line response:
"Last year Mr and Mrs McClusky benefited from introductory discounts of 20 per cent when they purchased their insurance from us. This year we have been forced to increase prices in their geographical area due to high claims figures increasing the risk. Our data has also shown an increased risk for drivers with driving convictions, which has also had an impact on the price of the McClusky's premium.
"In addition to these specific increases associated with Mr and Mrs McClusky, motor insurance premiums have increased substantially across the industry. The single biggest factor for this is the increase in personal injury claims and associated costs."
Sheilas' Wheels
Ms Nevey's premium rose considerably due to a three-fold increase in injury claims in her area within a six month period. Her details didn't change but the claims lodged against other local drivers rose dramatically. Other insurers may not have seen this but may do in 2010. Her premium last year was correct and her new one is correct to reflect our underwriting experience. Car insurance is a price and a contract that lasts one year, so Ms Nevey was neither enticed nor locked in. She has found cover cheaper elsewhere and that is her prerogative. It does not alter what we have seen. Our price changes reflect this and are justified.
Admiral response:
The actual annual rise in premium for Mr Cumberlidge's policy was 55%.
One reason for this increase was because he had a non-fault accident in the previous year, which is one of the rating factors we use in order to calculate a premium that is an accurate reflection of the risk to insure a customer. We should point out that whilst non-fault claims do result in an increase to premiums, they do not have any effect on the No Claims Discount.
A number of rate changes implemented throughout the year, including increases to our base level, also contributed to the increase in Mr Cumberlidge's premium.
In the last 12 months we have put our rates up on average by 22%, which is lower than the average in the market. Of course increases in premiums are not the same for every motorist or uniform across the board, but are based on individual circumstances and the risk they present.
Because we increased our rates by less than the market average, we have seen significant growth in customer numbers this year, which is the main reason for our increased profits.
High car premiums left you feeling low?
In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.
You know it's serious... when it leads to questions in the House of Commons.
(Do you have something to say about this story? Tell us what you think by emailing us here. Don't forget to include 'Car Premiums' in the subject line. Watchdog will publish a selection of viewers' comments underneath each story, both throughout and after the programme is on air. Please remember to include your name as you would like to see it published).
Are the big insurers in financial trouble or something? Well, certainly not Admiral, who've just posted a 21% increase in profits and at the same time increased their average premiums by 22%. This means, for customers like Luke Cumberlidge and his girlfriend Seana, the cost of renewing with Admiral is much more.
Last year Luke paid £1,205 to insure his Audi A3 and his girlfriend's Mini on a multicar policy. This year the same policy will cost him £1,873. That's 55% more. The reason? Someone else had crashed into his car.
"I had an accident about five months ago, which wasn't my fault - a third party came into the back of my car. It's all been paid and sort of closed off, it's all been sorted out by a third party - so I haven't made a claim on my insurance... I can't possibly see how someone driving into the back of my car can affect my policy. It's not a mistake I've made, I've been an excellent driver for the last few years, I've made no mistakes and yet they treat you like this."
Insurance expert Graham Trudgill sympathises:
"We can absolutely understand Luke's point of view, this is a really big increase - almost the same as losing his entire No Claims bonus and yet it wasn't even his fault. So it is really high."
Well, if a 55% seems like a big rise, Karen Nevey's story is even more shocking. She was insured by Shelia's Wheels last year at a cost of £460.
"I went with Sheilas' Wheels because they are a well-known reputable company. I don't like changing insurance companies year by year, I like loyalty, I like to stick with an insurance company."
Karen's had an uneventful life since then. Oh sure, she's bought a new sofa. And changed her mug. But, she's still a teacher. Still lives in the same house. And still drives a Citroen. So has Sheila's Wheels' recognised her unchanged circumstances? Her loyalty? No. They've hiked her annual premium ...by 158%.
"I thought there was something wrong, I thought they'd miscalculated. I really did feel like falling on the floor with the quote, because I have never ever had a car insurance quote that high."
The company told Karen there'd had been a dramatic increase in the amount of claims in her area - and premiums had to rise to reflect this. As a result, Karen has had to look elsewhere and has now swapped insurers. No change of mind from Sheilas' Wheels - they told us their new price was justified.
Graham Trudgill thinks that such a rise is harsh:
"Karen's facing a massive increase in her insurance premium, more than doubling what it was last year and this is due to a re-evaluation of how the insurance company rate the area she lives in. We think it's extremely harsh and very unusual to see such a change."
So Admiral and Sheila's Wheels blame other drivers crashing into your car and other drivers in your neighbourhood making claims for the insurance hikes. What about Direct line? They simply blame the weather. They've increased Janine McClusky's premiums by 55%.
"To insure my car this year Direct Line have asked for an extra £300. When I asked for an explanation why, I was told it was due to the high volume of claims they'd had earlier in the year due to the snow in January and February. This is a ridiculous amount of money - how can anybody be expected to pay such a high increase?"
Well, that's a question other drivers are asking. And not just those with Direct Line.
Katherine Atkin is confused by how much her premium has risen:
"My car insurance has just gone up by over £300. I feel absolutely staggered about it - I've got seven years no claims discount, I drive really carefully, I've got quite a small car. I just can't believe it's gone up by that much."
Michael Harris, with over 33 years of no claims, feels strongly too:
"I've never, ever claimed in all my life on my insurance. I've got a clean driving licence and the insurance has shot up by £438 over a 12 month period. Nobody can tell me why - it's just ridiculous."
Heavy snow, non-fault accidents, clean driving licences - whatever the circumstance, it seems your policy is going to rise and Graeme Trudgill believes that the premium increases are inevitable:
"The bottom line is that prices are going up and that's unavoidable because of the massive costs on the industry. Previously, their earnings from their investments have propped that up but due to the economic crisis, that's reduced and were seeing a massive increase, a tripling, in body injury claims, we're seeing comparison sites keeping prices right down so they're not making the money they used to make and were seeing fraud and uninsured driving bringing in massive costs to the industry as well."
Massive costs that they're determined to pass on.
Ah, the joys of motoring....
Direct Line response:
"Last year Mr and Mrs McClusky benefited from introductory discounts of 20 per cent when they purchased their insurance from us. This year we have been forced to increase prices in their geographical area due to high claims figures increasing the risk. Our data has also shown an increased risk for drivers with driving convictions, which has also had an impact on the price of the McClusky's premium.
"In addition to these specific increases associated with Mr and Mrs McClusky, motor insurance premiums have increased substantially across the industry. The single biggest factor for this is the increase in personal injury claims and associated costs."
Sheilas' Wheels
Ms Nevey's premium rose considerably due to a three-fold increase in injury claims in her area within a six month period. Her details didn't change but the claims lodged against other local drivers rose dramatically. Other insurers may not have seen this but may do in 2010. Her premium last year was correct and her new one is correct to reflect our underwriting experience. Car insurance is a price and a contract that lasts one year, so Ms Nevey was neither enticed nor locked in. She has found cover cheaper elsewhere and that is her prerogative. It does not alter what we have seen. Our price changes reflect this and are justified.
Admiral response:
The actual annual rise in premium for Mr Cumberlidge's policy was 55%.
One reason for this increase was because he had a non-fault accident in the previous year, which is one of the rating factors we use in order to calculate a premium that is an accurate reflection of the risk to insure a customer. We should point out that whilst non-fault claims do result in an increase to premiums, they do not have any effect on the No Claims Discount.
A number of rate changes implemented throughout the year, including increases to our base level, also contributed to the increase in Mr Cumberlidge's premium.
In the last 12 months we have put our rates up on average by 22%, which is lower than the average in the market. Of course increases in premiums are not the same for every motorist or uniform across the board, but are based on individual circumstances and the risk they present.
Because we increased our rates by less than the market average, we have seen significant growth in customer numbers this year, which is the main reason for our increased profits.
High car premiums left you feeling low?