Drivers are to see car insurance premiums rise even further this year, financial analysts have suggested.
Despite the fact that car insurance premiums already went up by an average of 10 per cent last year, experts at Deloitte have predicted that this trend will continue as insurance firms try to recoup their losses from a surge in claims.
Deloitte’s analysis shows that claims topped £2 billion last year, fuelled mainly by a growth in no-win, no-fee personal injury cases. The research found that some insurers paid out as much as £1.20 for every £1.00 they received in premiums last year. Deloitte has predicted that many insurers will not break even until at least 2012.
The AA has suggested that premiums could soar by as much as 30 per cent. However, on the positive side, many motorists with clean records should get a better deal than this as insurers compete for their business.
Ian Crowder, of the AA, commented, “People injured in accidents should be properly compensated but it seems to be open season for the claims companies trying to tout business from people who have not been injured or who would not otherwise have made a claim.”
