The cost of car insurance
Money Box
BBC
4.2 • 825 Ratings
🗓️ 30 January 2019
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
According to the Association of British Insurers, average motor insurance premiums dropped by 1% last year. But the experiences of many Money Box listeners tell a different story.
Louise Cooper and panel discuss why the cost of car insurance is so high.
How do insurers work your premium out? Is it ever a good idea to stick with your existing provider? And how common is it for young people to pay more for their insurance than the cost of their vehicle?
From 1pm Wednesday 30th January you can call us on 03 700 100 444 or email us at any time: moneybbc@bbc.co.uk.
Joining Louise on the panel: David Williams - Technical Director at AXA Insurance Amanda Stretton - Motoring Editor, Confused.com Neil Hart - Client Services Director at Consumer Intelligence
Producer: Alex Lewis + Linda Walker Editor: John Murphy
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In Northern Ireland, from the late 70s to the early 90s, the IRA killed over 40 alleged informers. |
| 0:08.0 | But the man who often found, tortured and sometimes killed these people on behalf of the IRA |
| 0:12.0 | was himself an informer, a secret British army agent with the codename Stakeknife. |
| 0:18.0 | Who gets to play God? And why me? Why my family? When lies are still being told to this day, |
| 0:24.0 | who do you believe? I wouldn't even know where to start and I'm with the IRA. |
| 0:28.5 | Steakknife. Listen first on BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. Welcome to the download of Moneybox Live, the programme about your money. |
| 0:41.3 | And today, it's all about car insurance. |
| 0:44.0 | Today's podcast is slightly longer than the programme as broadcast, |
| 0:47.7 | as we're including some extra material. |
| 0:50.2 | We hope you enjoy it. |
| 0:52.4 | BBC Sounds, music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:56.0 | The UK has some of the most expensive car insurance in Europe. |
| 1:00.1 | The average quoted premium is about £700, and that's up 20% in the last five years. |
| 1:06.8 | However, for young drivers, premiums can easily be double that, about £1,500, which is often more than the car is worth. |
| 1:15.8 | So why is car insurance in the UK so expensive? |
| 1:18.7 | What can you do to bring down the cost? |
| 1:21.3 | What must you do to ensure your insurance remains valid so that if you need to you can claim successfully and maybe |
| 1:28.9 | we can help if you've had problems with a motor claim. So call Moneybox live now on 0300-100-400-44-geographic |
| 1:39.6 | charges from landlines and mobiles apply or you can please email us, Moneybox at BBC.co.uk. |
| 1:48.0 | The car insurance industry is big. Last year, it took in about £15 billion of premium income. |
| 1:56.8 | And that's because it's illegal to drive on public roads without it. You have to have it. |
| 2:02.8 | Well, let's meet our panel now. Joining me is David Williams, technical director at ACSA Insurance. Welcome, David. |
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