Don’t count on specialists to drive down insurance costs

Motorists could lose out by as much as 25 per cent on insurance if they rely on specialist insurers to offer them the best deal according to new research.

Analysis from price comparison website, moneysupermarket.com, shows insurers who market themselves as ‘women-only’ or target specific groups, such as the elderly, may not automatically be the best value option for these consumers. For example, a woman aged 25, living in Leeds and driving a Peugeot 206 will find the cheapest women-only brand option is ladyinsure.co.uk, which will charge her £387.17. This is 25 per cent more expensive than the cheapest ‘standard’ provider option of Tesco, which would charge £308.70. Diamond, which caters solely for women-only drivers, charges £556.50, a whopping 80 per cent over the cost of the cheapest premium.

Of the cheapest five car insurance policies found by moneysupermarket.com, none from ladyinsure.co.uk, Diva Car Insurance, Sheilas’ Wheels, Women on Wheels or Diamond featured.

Richard Mason, director of insurance at moneysupermarket.com, said: “Specialist insurers, such as Diamond and Sheilas’ Wheels, which launched almost a year ago, have promoted themselves heavily to women as the value alternative, catering specifically for their needs. But our research clearly shows it pays to shop around for premiums across the whole of market. While these insurers may sometimes come up trumps for women, chances are they will be beaten on premiums by the bigger, better known brands.

“While some specialist insurers will offer extra benefits to women, such as handbag cover up to £300, half-price MOT or free mobile phone and connection, women should not be swayed by female-friendly adverts offering them cheaper car insurance. Instead, assess whether the extras are really beneficial to you and let the premiums speak for themselves.”

The research also looked at motor insurance for the elderly. Older drivers fared better as they are traditionally classed in the lower risk category. Even so, specialist insurers did not offer the cheapest deal. For example, a man aged 55, living in Birmingham and driving a 2.0 TDi Rover 45 would pay £221.50 with Quinn-Direct - £28.40 cheaper than the best specialist insurance premium with Prudential, which charges £249.90.

Richard Mason added: “Older drivers generally find their cars cheaper to insure so this should give more scope for those insurers who claim to offer better value for elderly drivers. Again, our research has found that elderly motorists should not rely on insurers which specialise in the older market to always offer them value for money. So, it definitely pays to scour the market for the best cover to suit your needs.”