Government taskforce to investigate rising car insurance costs

The government has established a taskforce to help drive down the spiralling cost of car insurance, after figures showed average premiums have risen more than 20% in just two years.

The increase in car insurance for Brits is far higher than in comparable economies such as Germany, France, Spain and Italy.

Transport secretary Louise Haigh and economic secretary Tulip Siddiq led the first meeting of the taskforce which brought together industry groups, consumer champions and insurance regulators.

Attendees included the Association of British Insurers (ABI), Citizens Advice, Which? and Comparethemarket.

A key aim of the taskforce is to identify the factors behind rapidly rising premiums, as well as agreeing solutions to keeping them under control.

The government is particularly concerned about the effect of rising car insurance costs on young and older people plus those from ethnic minority backgrounds or on lower incomes.

"Car insurance is an essential, not a luxury. It is vital to accessing economic opportunities and this government is committed to getting costs under control," says Haigh.

Haigh says the government is taking direct action to bring insurance companies and regulators round the table to discuss how we can crack down on spiralling costs.

"Our new expert taskforce will give this issue the attention it deserves – rooting out the factors driving up costs for industry and ensuring drivers are able to hit the road."

ABI director general Hannah Gurga welcomed the taskforce pointing out what while average premiums have fallen recently, there should be no loss of momentum on tackling costs.

All ideas generated by the taskforce will be backed up with advice from regulators the FCA and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Ask HJ

Why is my son at fault for an accident when the other driver accepted responsibility?

My (then) 17 year old son was involved in an accident while leaving the M6 for the M5. Essentially, as he was moving left, he hit another car which was driving on the hard shoulder. At the time the other driver admitted responsibility, but of course this changed. My son's insurer contacted him months later asking if he would be willing to accept joint responsibility, which he agreed to. Now, nearly a year after the incident, they are asking if he will accept full responsibility, as the other insurers are contesting it. There were no witnesses, and no footage of the incident. His insurance is up for renewal, and his insurers are basing his quote on his being at fault (he did accept joint responsibility). My question is, when getting quotes from other companies, does he need to put down that he was at fault, or not?

If he’s accepted fault in any way - whether jointly or not - then he’ll need to declare this to his insurer. It’s likely that the cost of his car insurance could increase at renewal, but he shouldn’t panic, there are insurers out there which will cover drivers under these circumstances. The best thing to do is shop around and compare prices and don’t forget that prices should come back down once he has more opportunity to build his no-claims bonus.

Answered by Louise Thomas

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