Sainsbury’s Bank reveals a fall in car insurance premiums

The Sainsbury’s Bank Car Insurance Index which looks at premiums in a six month period reveals that between August 2005 and January 2006, the average car insurance premium fell slightly from £470.17 to £462.15. However, depending on your age and where you live, premiums may vary more dramatically.

The Index, which tracks car insurance industry premiums for a number of different categories of motorists, reveals that in January this year the average premium for those under the age of 25 was £1,048, down from £1,091 in August 2005. The corresponding figures for motorists aged over 65 were £327.13 and £342.49, a fall of nearly 4.5%, which was the highest for any group of motorists.

On a regional basis, not surprisingly, London is the most expensive place in Britain to insure your car, where the average premium in January was £559.31. This compared to £326.15 in East Anglia, where motorists pay the least for insuring their cars.

East Anglia and the North East were the only areas to see car insurance premiums rise between August 2005 and January 2006, and Scotland saw the biggest fall (down almost 3%).

Richard Clark, Sainsbury’s car insurance manager said: "Competition in the car insurance marketplace is strong so it pays to shop around for cover. However, despite this, we estimate that as many as 19% of motorists only obtain one quote when they purchase car insurance. Indeed, we know that 48% simply renew their existing policy."

Sainsbury’s car insurance offers competitive premiums and could save motorists up to £130. In addition to offering competitive car insurance premiums Sainsbury’s car insurance also offers motorists an extensive range of cover and benefits. This includes a courtesy car when using one of Sainsbury's car insurance’s recommended repairers (comprehensive cover only) and a no claim discount of 70% if you have not made a claim in the past five years, rising to 75% after a further five years’ claims free driving. It is also one of only a few providers to offer new for old replacement child car seats after an accident as a standard feature of its comprehensive policy, even when there is no perceived damage and support and compensation if you’re a victim of car jacking or road rage.