Car insurance

[dontchaknow]

My car insurance renewal went up by 50%. I had no claims during the past year. Of course I checked comparison sites and sorted it out by going with another company but still yet had to pay 30% more than I paid last year for the same cover. I know everything has gone up/is still going up, and there are problems with spares etc etc, but this is ridiculous. I have noticed that whatever the inflation rate is reported to be, my experience is that for me it seems to run higher. Is that the same for everyone else? And what else has gone up?

Mine also 40% increase, but very difficult to compare like with like on 'comparison sites; eg. policies offering a 'courtesy' car.

One quote looked attractive, but small print said 'no courtesy car, if car written off', as my car is valued at £500, the insurance company would writ it off for even the smallest bump. So I'd never qualify for a courtesy car.

Make went up a silly amount too - I phoned the provider and was able to negotiate it down a bit. Seems like some companies are taking the P a bit just now...

Cost of repairs and availability of parts has a significant impact on insurance costs.

Indeed, plus delays in repairs due to staff shortages in bodyshops - delays in getting you back on the road means they have to provide a hire car for longer (if in your policy), or it brings down the threshold for writing it off (write it off at lower levels of damage to avoid having a prolonged hire car).

Insurance companies are playing catch up. When you took out your policy a year ago they will have factored in inflation at c3% (maybe 5% tops) and therefore the claims experienced last year cost massively more than the policies covered. Inflation is expected to remain high so your quote this year includes the inflation that should have been in last year plus the inflation for the year ahead when you’re on cover. It’s a pig but with car inflation running at 15%+ last year it’s not a surprise.