Motorists burn £1.9 billion a year by ‘auto renewing’ their car insurance
UK motorists are wasting £1.9 billion each year by staying loyal to their existing car insurer. Not shopping around for a better deal at renewal time means drivers could be throwing away around £220 a year, says MoneySuperMarket.com.
Britain’s number one comparison site reveals 8.6 million drivers (23 per cent) automatically renew their car insurance with their existing provider. Of these, 13 per cent don’t think they could save money by shopping around, and worryingly a further seven per cent (2.4 million motorists) ‘automatically renew’ because they can’t be bothered to seek out a saving. Only four per cent of drivers renew automatically to ensure they comply with legislation on Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE).
Many motorists assume shopping around for car insurance once is enough: one in five (18 per cent) admit they have only looked for a better deal once, as they didn’t think they could make another saving the following year. London-based drivers are most likely to fall into this trap, with 31 per cent admitting they thought that way.
Kevin Pratt, car insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: “It’s a shame to see so many drivers blindly accept their insurance provider’s renewal quote instead of taking action to save cash on their cover. Motorists don’t even need to ‘drive’ a hard bargain. Average premium quotations are up to £220 less for those who shop around. It really pays to not just accept the renewal price quoted by your existing car insurer.”
Loyalty isn’t rewarded
On average motorists remain faithful to the same insurer for two and a half (2.5) years, with the over 55s being the most loyal age group (averaging 3.2 years with the same insurer), compared to 1.9 years for drivers aged 18-34 and 2.1 years for those aged 35-54. Female drivers are more likely to switch insurer, averaging two years with the same one, compared to three years for male drivers. Regionally, London drivers are most likely to automatically renew their car insurance policies (39 per cent), and those living in the East Midlands are the savviest motorists, with only 15 per cent staying loyal to their existing insurer.
Kevin Pratt continued: “No matter where you live or what age you are, it’s crucial to shop around at renewal time, as searching for a better deal doesn’t cost you anything and there is a whole lot to gain. Even if your renewal is less than last year’s price, in a market where the cost of insurance is falling there should be even cheaper deals to be so it’s really worth checking if there is a better value policy out there to suit your individual needs. With a potential saving in the region of £200 it’s surely worth five minutes of anybody’s time?”