While the figure has reduced over the past five years, private motor insurance premiums were on average 11 per cent higher in Northern Ireland than in the rest of the UK last year, an Office of Fair Trading (OFT) study has revealed.
In rural areas, Northern Irelanders were being charged between 30 and 70 per cent more than people in similar areas in the rest of Great Britain.
The OFT found three potential reasons for the price difference. Firstly, consumers in Northern Ireland statistically don’t shop around for the best deal as much as people in the rest of the UK. Only 54 per cent said they shop around before buying insurance, compared to 73 per cent in Great Britain. This has lowered competition in the area resulting in higher prices.
Secondly, insurers in the region say the higher price could be because claims are generally higher in Northern Ireland. The higher claims are the result of “differences in the levels of compensation [resulting in] higher personal injury settlements,” the OFT said.
The third and final explination offerend was road safety. Statistically, Northern Ireland has more accidents per capita and per vehicle than the rest of the UK which has an obvious impact on insurance costs.
