Taxi drivers and motorists paying wildly different premiums for car insurance across the UK

Motorists in London are forking out considerably more than drivers in other parts of the UK, with average premiums in the capital nudging close to £800.

Some motorists may be tempted to move to the South West of England where average premiums are little more than half those in London at just over £400 a year.

Across the UK as a whole, drivers paid an average of £548.52 for their annual motor insurance policy.

But regions comprising large rural spaces generally enjoy lower premiums than those that include large cities and urban areas where road accidents and car thefts are statistically more likely to occur.

Drivers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all paid less than the UK average at just £500 a year for their car insurance.

Conversely, motorists in regions such as the North West and West Midlands, which are largely made up of highly populated urban areas, both paid more than £630 a year on average.

As well as the likelihood of accidents and thefts, cities and densely populated urban areas generally have a younger population which is also a factor contributing to higher average car insurance premiums.

The average vehicle value can also be higher in big cities, pushing average premiums up even more, this is particularly true in the capital.

Quotezone.co.uk crunched the numbers on a sample of over 1,000,000 policies, naming London as the most expensive place in the UK to insure a vehicle, with drivers paying £781.01 on average.

The North West of England was the second most expensive place to insure a car with an average premium of £634.36.

The West Midlands region was revealed to be the third most expensive part of the UK for car insurance with an average premium of £630.42, just slightly less than that of the North West.

Drivers in Yorkshire, with its mix of urban and rural landscapes, paid an average premium of £592.27, while those in the North East paid £545.29.

The East Midlands region commanded insurance premiums considerably cheaper than those down the road in the West Midlands with an average premium in the East Midlands being just £538.93.

Perhaps surprisingly, the South East of England region offers motorists good value once those living in London have been factored out, with the average premiums here being just £498.25.

Welsh drivers paid only £493.30 on average while motorists in Northern Ireland enjoyed even better value, paying just £492.39.

Drivers in East Anglia also enjoyed cheaper premiums at just £489.62 on average, while north of the border motorists in Scotland paid even less, at £463.53 on average.

Finally, those car owners in the South West of England, including the rural counties of Devon and Cornwall, enjoyed the best value car insurance in the UK with average premiums of only £422.88.

Quotezone.co.uk founder Greg Wilson said: “When it comes to paying for car insurance there are huge variations depending on where in the country drivers live.

“Insurance companies are very specific and can vary the cost of a policy depending on which postcode the driver lives in but by zooming out a little we can see there are some interesting regional differences as a whole.

“Motorists in big cities tend to pay more and this is particularly true in London. With a greater population density, there are more cars on the road and the likelihood of a prang does increase.

“But there are also other factors at play including the local crime rate, the average age of drivers and the value of the vehicles they are insuring.

“So while the data may tempt some drivers to up sticks and move down to Cornwall, they should be warned that the cost of their premium won’t necessarily decline. There are several other factors insurance providers must consider and each premium is calculated on an individual basis for the person in question.

“It is essential for all motorists to accurately inform their insurance company of their home address as well as any other location where their vehicle is likely to spend more than 30 days. Failing to do so may cause their policy to be invalid if they were to make a claim.”