Readers will no doubt be both interested and concerned to read that, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the amount paid out by motor insurers in respect of claims for the theft of or from vehicles has increased significantly when comparing the first quarter of 2019 with the same period last year.
The amount paid out in respect of the above crimes rose by 22% to £108 million when comparing the above two quarters. Insurance companies settled 16,000 claims in the first quarter of 2019 for such crimes whereas in the same quarter of 2018 the figure was 14,000.
In the first quarter of 2019, the cost of repairs to vehicles owned by policyholders and third parties amounted to a staggering £1.2 billion.
One of the reasons why there has been a large increase in the amount paid out by motor insurers is because cars are more sophisticated these days and therefore cost more to replace some of the parts. For instance, the average cost of replacing a windscreen in one particular car increased from £147 in 2008/2009 to £468 after 2015.
You would have thought that this would have resulted in higher car insurance premiums but, according to the Confused.com Car Insurance Price Index, the average cost of fully comprehensive car insurance dropped by a few pounds in the first quarter of 2019 when compared with the last quarter of 2018. It will be interesting to see what happens to the cost of car insurance in the next few quarters.
If you are looking for car insurance then why not use the likes of a price comparison website and check to see if you can improve on the premium quoted by your existing insurer at renewal or if you are looking to insure your first vehicle. There are dozens of insurance companies offering cover to insure motor vehicles although it is worth noting that not all of them advertise their policies on price comparison websites.
