About £12,000 for a second hand Astra and £9,000 for an old Landrover - these are just two of the astronomical quotes given to Farmers Weekly readers by their insurers.We also heard about quotes for 1.1 litre compact cars topping £4,000. We heard about premiums rising by as much as £500 year-on-year despite driving the same car with more road experience and a completely clean accident history. And we were told about young drivers who switched to smaller-engined cars in lower insurance groups only to find their premiums going up by hundreds of pounds.
It's not just hearsay - your stories are backed up by the latest industry figures. According to a study conducted by the AA, the average premium for an annual comprehensive car insurance policy has risen by more than 40% over the past 12 months. For drivers between the ages of 17 and 22 it stands at an even more eye-watering 64%.
Spotting the upwards pattern is easy, but identifying the reasons behind it is less clear cut. Assuming Britain's drivers haven't become more reckless overnight, why is it getting so much more expensive to drive?
PRESSURES
One of the biggest culprits is the rise in fraudulent motor claims. In the UK, bogus motor insurance claims worth over £1.1m are exposed each day. When you learn that a typical whiplash injury for a single individual can add £4,000 to the cost of a claim you start to realise where the price hikes are coming from.
Another problem is uninsured drivers. The Motor Insurers Bureau puts the cost of uninsured drivers in the UK at more than £500m every year, which it estimates adds £30 to every honest motorist's annual premium.
And finally, age. While youth might more commonly seen as an advantage, there's no escaping the statistics relating to young drivers. One in five are involved in a crash during their first year on the road, and if you're male the numbers look even worse. Male drivers under the age of 21 are 10 times more likely to have a car accident than male drivers aged 35 or over, and the resulting injury claims are a major cause of premium increases.
"It's little wonder that most motor insurers made a thumping loss last year," says Simon Stevens, managing director at Rural Insurance.
"We insurers must do what we can to keep costs under control, however, the problem also reflects the growth of a compensation culture, where we are encouraged to find someone to blame for every accident; and with that blame comes potential financial gain.
"Not only has this increased the amount of fraud, but it has changed the way we think about accidents. Twenty years ago accidents were often seen as simply bad luck. Nowadays, an accident is seen as an opportunity to gain compensation, and a whole industry has sprung up to handle those claims. In the end, the cost of the compensation culture is paid for by everyone through higher premiums, and we must ask ourselves: Are we, as a society, happy about that?"
Farmers, farm workers and rural dwellers are probably less happy about it than most. Aside from burning a big hole in your wallet, soaring insurance costs can have a real impact on day-to-day life in Britain's countryside. Private car ownership is often the only option in isolated areas, where residents don't have the convenience of public transport on every corner. If you can't afford the premiums, life can come screeching to a halt.
"Living in rural areas is already an expensive business," says Jill Grieve, head of communications at the Countryside Alliance, "but with fuel and insurance prices continually rising it is especially tough for youngsters who want the independence a car can bring, but cannot afford to buy, fuel, maintain or insure a vehicle.
"We have heard from younger members who are reliant on their parents for lifts because they just cannot afford their own car. The countryside has an ageing population and youngsters who want to live and work in the countryside face so many barriers. Insurance companies should be more alive to the 'rite of passage' element of car ownership, especially for the young in rural areas who want independence, but are priced out of the market."
ESSENTIAL
Having four wheels becomes even more critical when you need that car to earn a living, not just to visit your mates in the next village. Seventeen-year-old Dave McLean who lives in the Scottish Borders pays £1,700 to insure his 1.1 Peugeot 206, which he uses to travel the two miles to work every day. He has also been lambing at another farm in his holidays, which is about four miles away, so for him "not having a car isn't an option."
To add to the problem, many farm workers require bigger and more powerful vehicles to tow trailers and livestock boxes - vehicles that command even higher insurance premiums. When 18-year-old Sebastien Belgeonne from Somerset was quoted just over £2000 for a 1.1 Peugeot 106, he realised his hopes of getting a Land Rover to tow a cattle box were out of the window.
"Not being from a farming family I couldn't put the car on the farm insurance and the cheapest quote I got for a Land Rover was £8,500. The prices for insurance are astronomical, and make life hard when you have to drive to the farm four times a day as well as drive calves about and make runs to the suppliers."
The most staggering insurance quotes tend to be given to young men like Sebastien, who, statistically, are more of a risky prospect for insurers.
But new legislation coming into effect in December next year means it will be illegal for insurers to offer different prices to men and women. Levelling the insurance playing field will be good news for men who could see their premiums falling, but less so for women whose costs are likely to soar to compensate.
It could be tempting to get a bit creative with the information you give to insurance companies to keep your quote affordable, but be warned says Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance - it could backfire.
"The record rises in fuel costs coupled with spiralling car insurance premiums is making driving unaffordable for many, especially for cash-strapped young drivers. This is leading to more people withholding information when taking out a policy or exaggerating personal injury claims to try to reduce their costs. But this simply piles on costs for insurers and results in yet higher premiums for honest motorists."
It's not just hearsay - your stories are backed up by the latest industry figures. According to a study conducted by the AA, the average premium for an annual comprehensive car insurance policy has risen by more than 40% over the past 12 months. For drivers between the ages of 17 and 22 it stands at an even more eye-watering 64%.
Spotting the upwards pattern is easy, but identifying the reasons behind it is less clear cut. Assuming Britain's drivers haven't become more reckless overnight, why is it getting so much more expensive to drive?
PRESSURES
One of the biggest culprits is the rise in fraudulent motor claims. In the UK, bogus motor insurance claims worth over £1.1m are exposed each day. When you learn that a typical whiplash injury for a single individual can add £4,000 to the cost of a claim you start to realise where the price hikes are coming from.
 |
| Motor Insurance |
And finally, age. While youth might more commonly seen as an advantage, there's no escaping the statistics relating to young drivers. One in five are involved in a crash during their first year on the road, and if you're male the numbers look even worse. Male drivers under the age of 21 are 10 times more likely to have a car accident than male drivers aged 35 or over, and the resulting injury claims are a major cause of premium increases.
"It's little wonder that most motor insurers made a thumping loss last year," says Simon Stevens, managing director at Rural Insurance.
"We insurers must do what we can to keep costs under control, however, the problem also reflects the growth of a compensation culture, where we are encouraged to find someone to blame for every accident; and with that blame comes potential financial gain.
"Not only has this increased the amount of fraud, but it has changed the way we think about accidents. Twenty years ago accidents were often seen as simply bad luck. Nowadays, an accident is seen as an opportunity to gain compensation, and a whole industry has sprung up to handle those claims. In the end, the cost of the compensation culture is paid for by everyone through higher premiums, and we must ask ourselves: Are we, as a society, happy about that?"
Farmers, farm workers and rural dwellers are probably less happy about it than most. Aside from burning a big hole in your wallet, soaring insurance costs can have a real impact on day-to-day life in Britain's countryside. Private car ownership is often the only option in isolated areas, where residents don't have the convenience of public transport on every corner. If you can't afford the premiums, life can come screeching to a halt.
"Living in rural areas is already an expensive business," says Jill Grieve, head of communications at the Countryside Alliance, "but with fuel and insurance prices continually rising it is especially tough for youngsters who want the independence a car can bring, but cannot afford to buy, fuel, maintain or insure a vehicle.
"We have heard from younger members who are reliant on their parents for lifts because they just cannot afford their own car. The countryside has an ageing population and youngsters who want to live and work in the countryside face so many barriers. Insurance companies should be more alive to the 'rite of passage' element of car ownership, especially for the young in rural areas who want independence, but are priced out of the market."
ESSENTIAL
Having four wheels becomes even more critical when you need that car to earn a living, not just to visit your mates in the next village. Seventeen-year-old Dave McLean who lives in the Scottish Borders pays £1,700 to insure his 1.1 Peugeot 206, which he uses to travel the two miles to work every day. He has also been lambing at another farm in his holidays, which is about four miles away, so for him "not having a car isn't an option."
To add to the problem, many farm workers require bigger and more powerful vehicles to tow trailers and livestock boxes - vehicles that command even higher insurance premiums. When 18-year-old Sebastien Belgeonne from Somerset was quoted just over £2000 for a 1.1 Peugeot 106, he realised his hopes of getting a Land Rover to tow a cattle box were out of the window.
"Not being from a farming family I couldn't put the car on the farm insurance and the cheapest quote I got for a Land Rover was £8,500. The prices for insurance are astronomical, and make life hard when you have to drive to the farm four times a day as well as drive calves about and make runs to the suppliers."
The most staggering insurance quotes tend to be given to young men like Sebastien, who, statistically, are more of a risky prospect for insurers.
But new legislation coming into effect in December next year means it will be illegal for insurers to offer different prices to men and women. Levelling the insurance playing field will be good news for men who could see their premiums falling, but less so for women whose costs are likely to soar to compensate.
It could be tempting to get a bit creative with the information you give to insurance companies to keep your quote affordable, but be warned says Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance - it could backfire.
"The record rises in fuel costs coupled with spiralling car insurance premiums is making driving unaffordable for many, especially for cash-strapped young drivers. This is leading to more people withholding information when taking out a policy or exaggerating personal injury claims to try to reduce their costs. But this simply piles on costs for insurers and results in yet higher premiums for honest motorists."
