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'Compensation culture' pushing up car insurance costs
The increasing willingness of British drivers to seek compensation for an accident on the road is helping drive up the cost of car insurance, it has been claimed.
Newly-released figures from the AA reveal that the average annual comprehensive car insurance premium increased by 18.7 per cent over the course of 2009 to break the £1,000 mark.
And while this average is pushed up by the ever-growing premiums being charged for younger motorists, the statistics also show that even those consumers who shop around for the best deal can now expect to pay £613 a year for cover, a jump of around 11 per cent over the past 12 months.
Notably, the AA has explained that the rise of a 'compensation culture' across the UK can be partly blamed for these price hikes as insurers look to protect themselves from the growing number of personal injury claims being made by drivers.
"Many people seem willing to pursue claims for even minor injuries, such as mild whiplash pain that in the past they would not have bothered claiming for," explained Simon Douglas, the director of AA Insurance.
"This is becoming increasingly embedded in British culture and, ultimately, feeds back to premiums."
At the same time, the AA has also partly attributed the rise in premium prices to a steady growth in fraudulent claims.
This comes as Help the Aged and Age Concern has reported that drivers over the age of 65 are being routinely discriminated against by a majority of car insurance providers.
© Copyright.
Newly-released figures from the AA reveal that the average annual comprehensive car insurance premium increased by 18.7 per cent over the course of 2009 to break the £1,000 mark.
And while this average is pushed up by the ever-growing premiums being charged for younger motorists, the statistics also show that even those consumers who shop around for the best deal can now expect to pay £613 a year for cover, a jump of around 11 per cent over the past 12 months.
Notably, the AA has explained that the rise of a 'compensation culture' across the UK can be partly blamed for these price hikes as insurers look to protect themselves from the growing number of personal injury claims being made by drivers.
"Many people seem willing to pursue claims for even minor injuries, such as mild whiplash pain that in the past they would not have bothered claiming for," explained Simon Douglas, the director of AA Insurance.
"This is becoming increasingly embedded in British culture and, ultimately, feeds back to premiums."
At the same time, the AA has also partly attributed the rise in premium prices to a steady growth in fraudulent claims.
This comes as Help the Aged and Age Concern has reported that drivers over the age of 65 are being routinely discriminated against by a majority of car insurance providers.
© Copyright.
Published: 28/01/2010
The information in this article was correct at the time of publication and contains time sensitive data and links, it may not be accurate at the time of reading.