Insurance premiums at highest rate since records began

The soaring price of car insurance could price young and low-income drivers out of the market, claim experts.

As reported by The Independent, the cost of insuring a car soared by a third in the past nine months, with insurance companies blaming the rise on the growing number of fraudulent claims and the cost of settling personal injury claims.

The ever increasing cost of insurance could lead people to decide that they'd be better off selling a car and replacing it with one that costs less to insure.

According to The Guardian, in the three months leading to the end of June the cost of premiums shot up by 11.5%. The average cost of annual comprehensive cover hit £704, according to the AA British Insurance Premium Index. This is the sharpest increase recoded by the AA since it started tracking insurance premium trends 16 years ago.

In fact, the cost of third party, fire and theft cover is now more expensive than comprehensive cover for many drivers because of a higher incidence in claims on this type of insurance.

Edmund King, AA president, said: "The latest British Crime Survey, published last week, suggests that crime levels are falling, but crucially, it misses a new 21st-century wave of fraud such as providing false information and claiming for non-existent personal injuries, which just isn't being picked up."

The news has sparked fears that the number of uninsured drivers will rise, as people decide they simply don't want to pay the premium. As reported by The Independent, the ABI said it was "possible" the rises in the cost of insurance could lead to more uninsured drivers taking to the roads, but uninsured drivers are more likely to be caught thanks to advancements in number plate recognition technology which alert police when a vehicle is uninsured.

Ben Crane, Suffolk, Honda Civic

Kevan Noble, Portsmouth, Renault Grand Scenic