Average car insurance quote for drivers opting for a £1,000 voluntary excess is £318 a year; just £12 cheaper than a policy with a £250 voluntary excess
Nearly four in ten (39%) drivers chose a voluntary excess of over £250 and take on an additional liability of up to £750, but the average saving is just £1 a month
One in ten drivers (10%) are likely to claim each year, meaning 1.6 million drivers could be left significantly out of pocket
Average cost of cover with a £500 voluntary excess is the same as for a £1,000 voluntary excess policy – £318 – despite the additional financial liability
Uswitch.com calls on drivers to fully investigate their options and consider what level of excess they are willing to be liable for before choosing a car insurance policy.
Over 16 million Brits are taking on up to £750 of additional financial liability through their car insurance policy choices for average savings of just £1 a month,according to new research from Uswitch.com, the price comparison and switching service.
While the majority of British drivers opt for car insurance policies with an optional excess of £250 or less, 39% choose an excess of up to £1,000, for which they save just £12 annually on average when compared to the cost of a policy with a £250 excess.
Considering more than one in ten UK drivers (11%) make a claim on their car insurance policy each year, the 1.6 million drivers who opted for an excess of over £250 and end up making a claim could be left significantly out of pocket when it comes to footing the insurance bill.
Interestingly, drivers who choose the highest voluntary excess option, usually £1,000, might think they will benefit from a significant saving on the annual policy cost. However, in most cases, they are likely to pay the same premium as those who opt for a lower £500 excess, but would be left shelling out £500 more if it came to making a claim.
Rod Jones, insurance expert at Uswitch.com, says: “Worryingly a large number of drivers are taking on huge financial liabilities in exchange for tiny annual savings on their motor insurance. While many think that opting for a policy with a higher level of excess will save them money, drivers should ask themselves if an additional risk of £750 is really worth an average saving of just £1 a month and would they be put off making a claim knowing they’d have to pay a significant sum for doing so?
“With more than one in ten of those with a motor insurance policy likely to make a claim each year, we urge those looking to renew or switch their insurance to think seriously about the level of risk they want to take financially before they commit to a new annual policy.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Rory Stoves
Phone: 020 3872 5613
Email: rory.stoves@uswitch.com
Twitter: @UswitchPR
Notes to editors
According to Data.gov.uk, 39,909,550 full UK driving licences are held in the UK.
39% of quotes run on Uswitch.com between 1 Oct 2017 – 31 Dec 2017 had an excess of over £250. According to gov.uk, 39,909,550 full UK driving licences are held in the UK. 39% of 39,909,550 = 15,564,724. The average annual car insurance cost with a £250 excess is £330, and the average annual car insurance cost with a £1,000 is £318. The difference between the two average costs is only £12 despite the additional £750 voluntary excess liability. The total annual saving of £12 annual works out as £1 saving per month. This data was calculated using a set driver profile on Wednesday 14 December 2017 between 11am – midday. The data was calculated using the average from lowest cost quotes taken from the following websites; Uswitch.com, Go Compare, Confused.com, MoneySuperMarket, and CompareTheMarket.
According to gov.uk, 39,909,550 full UK driving licences are held in the UK. According to the ABI, 10% of all UK motorists with car insurance have a claim paid out on their car insurance each year. 10% of the 15,564,724 drivers who select a car insurance policy with an excess of over £250 = 1,556,472 drivers. These drivers would be left paying up to £750 more than their counterparts who opted for an excess of £250 or less in the event that a claim needed to be made.
The average annual car insurance cost for a £500 voluntary excess is £318, the same as the cost of an annual car insurance policy for the set driver with a £1,000 excess. The data was calculated in the same way as detailed in caveat 1.
This data was calculated using a set driver profile on Wednesday 14 December 2017 between 11am – midday. The data was calculated using the average from lowest cost quotes taken from the following websites; Uswitch.com, Go Compare, Confused.com, MoneySuperMarket, and CompareTheMarket.
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