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Young drivers have been hit hardest by the highest ever car insurance costs, with some facing premiums of almost £3,000, according to data.
Price comparison company Confused.com said 17-20 year olds on average saw their insurance rise by more than £1,000 compared to the same time last year.
Overall, drivers face an average of 58% more car insurance than they did last January.
Confused.com blamed the post-Covid increase in claims and rising costs.
Steve Dukes, chief executive of Confused.com, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The rate of claims has risen in the last two years, since the outbreak of the pandemic, but also in their cost.
“The cost of used cars is higher than it used to be, the cost of parts, the cost of labor to make repairs — all of that is passed on to consumers.”
Prices for used cars – the usual first car for a newly qualified young driver – have been volatile for a few months following the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. Demand for used cars has risen as production of new cars declines due to a global shortage of computer chips and other materials needed for manufacturing.
In March 2022, price increases in the used car market peaked at 31%, according to the Office for National Statistics. It has since declined sharply.
However, Confused.com said this was a “really difficult time” for motorists.
The average car insurance price rise for all drivers has risen by £366 to £995.
But younger drivers faced the steeper jump. For 17-year-olds, premiums rose by an average of £1,423, to £2,877. For 18-year-old drivers, the average policy price was £3,162.
Data is calculated based on an average of the five best quotes received on Confused.com, rather than the prices actually paid for policies.
Mr. Dukes said there are ways to lower insurance premiums. “Where they can legitimately share the drive with an older driver with more experience and adding that person as a designated driver, that can have a really big impact and bring the price down by hundreds of pounds, that’s really worth looking at,” he said. .
Mr Dukes also suggested young motorists should explore the use of telematics, or ‘pay-as-you-drive’ insurance, where their behavior on the road is shared with their primary insurance provider or occasional drivers insurance.
But he said that with prices rising for 17- to 20-year-olds, many young drivers would wonder whether they could afford to drive at all.
“The industry must be careful not to push young drivers to use other modes of transport, which is a real risk when prices are this high,” he said.
She added that it was important that motorists never drive without cover, and urged anyone struggling with the costs to speak to their insurers.
However, the ABI said insurance is always risk-based and its data showed the average cost and frequency of claims is higher for younger drivers, which could impact insurance premiums.
According to the ABI’s own analysis of 28 million policies, driver insurance costs rose between July and September by an average of £561, up 29% compared to the same time in 2022.
The association said the figures were based on the price customers paid for their coverage and not what they quoted.
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