Record rise on the way for car insurance

Drivers are now urged to check their renewal price with premiums rising by £60 – around eight per cent – in one year, now totalling £827, jut £31 short if the highest average price in 2011.

The data, which comes from Confused.com’s latest car insurance price index, reveals that male drivers are edging closer to the £900 mark, paying £878 on average for their car insurance – £114 more than female motorists who are paying £764 on average.

The annual renewal price is expected to break the £900 mark if current rates are maintained.

CEO at Confused.com, Louise O’Shea, said: “It looks like the average cost of car insurance is going to be over £900 in 2018 - the highest ever.

“The good news is that insurers now have to show us what we paid for car insurance last year.

“Therefore, it’s never been easier for drivers to check what they paid then and compare it to what they are asking you to pay now.

“January is always a difficult month after the excess of Christmas and that is true for drivers’ wallets too.”

The gap between insurance premiums for young drivers has reduced as a result of the European Union’s directive to reduce gender-based costs.

Male drivers aged 17 to 20 are now paying an average of £711 more than their female counterparts – a reduction from £1,787 in 2011.

As well as a rise in insurance premiums, drivers are also paying significantly more for fuel than they were a year go.

Drivers are paying 121.4 pence for petrol and 124.2 pence for diesel, on average, meaning that the average driver of a medium-sized car is now paying £69.18 for a full tank of petrol and £70.77 to fill up with diesel.