Drivers are paying wildly different amounts for their insurance based on location – how cheap is your area?
NEW data has revealed that drivers in different parts of the UK are paying wildly different amounts for insurance.
Motorists in some regions pay well below or far above the national average of £548.52 per year, with some paying as little as £400.
English drivers are found to be unlucky on the whole, with their Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish counterparts all paying under £500 per year on average.
For example the Scottish average is just £463.53, while in Northern Ireland it’s £492.39, according to a recent survey of over a million insurance plans.
Some regions of England, though, do sneak in well under the £500 barrier, with the South West average standing at £422.88 and East Anglian drivers seeing average costs of £489.62.
The North East, East Midlands and South East (excluding London) are the next tier up, with average costs all around £500 to £550.
However, large areas of England fall within the most expensive bracket.
Yorkshire is the cheapest of these at an average of £592.27, while the North West and West Midlands both top £600.
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London, as you might expect, is the most expensive area, with an average of £781.01, nearly double that of the South West.
Rural areas generally enjoy lower premiums as there is statistically less risk of car accidents than in urban areas.
City drivers are also pinched by higher likelihood of theft, a younger population and higher average car value, all pushing premiums sky high.
Greg Wilson, who founded Quotzone.co.uk which carried out the survey, said: “When it comes to paying for car insurance there are huge variations depending on where in the country drivers live.
“While the data may tempt some drivers to up sticks and move down to Cornwall, they should be warned that the cost of their premium won’t necessarily decline.
“There are several other factors insurance providers must consider and each premium is calculated on an individual basis for the person in question.”
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He warned that drivers must inform their insurance company of their home address and any address where their car is likely to spend more than 30 days.
Failing to do so could result in the insurance policy becoming invalid and claims being denied.