How your premium is calculated

The main factors influencing the cost of your insurance policy are:

  • Age of the driver
  • Sex of the driver
  • Performance of your vehicle
  • Number of years you have been driving
  • Use of the car on a daily basis
  • Postcode in which the car will usually be kept

Hot Topics

What if I have a high performance car?
High performance cars tend to be very expensive, but its not just the buying of the car. It's also the cost of maintaining, repairing it, and particularly the cost of insuring that you need to fully consider. High performance Car Insurance can cost anywhere up to about £10,000 a year, so shopping around can save you a small fortune.
Can I use my car for business use?
Class SDP. This class of motor vehicle use is for the policyholder and Named Drivers only using the vehicle for social, domestic and pleasure
I am at the scene of an accident - what do I do?
Take note of the registration number of all vehicles involved within the accident.
As a result of the accident, my car has been damaged - can I go ahead and get it repaired?
If you have taken out comprehensive car insurance cover and wish to claim under the policy, a specific claims procedure will be given to you when you contact the Claims Line to notify them of the accident. You should not repair your vehicle without the approval of your insurer.
Excess
What is an excess? An excess is the amount you have to pay if you make a claim on a car insurance policy.
Looking at all of these factors as a whole the insurer will calculate your annual premium.
Insurers take a view on the market as a whole, they statistically analyse the risk of claims in different areas of the market and work back to offer each their premiums. This always applies, whether or not you are a good driver, you will always be offered the premiums that your characteristics allow you NOT your skills.

The group most likely to pay high premiums are young, adult males with a high performance vehicle with relatively little driving experience. In these cases premiums may be as large as £5,000 to £10,000 per annum.

Another example, female drivers in their early fifties with a small low performance vehicle who have been driving the majority of their life will pay a significantly lower premium than the young males mentioned above.

Type of car

Cars are categorised into 1 of 20 insurance groups. The higher group, the higher the premium. These groups are defined by a number of factors, such as:

  • The cost to repair certain body parts
  • The ease of replacement of certain body parts
  • The ease to find certain replacement body parts
  • The acceleration of the vehicle
  • The value of the car when new
  • The car's resistance to theft

By collating this information, a sliding scale is calculated for the car which will ultimately correspond to the premium necessary to cover the vehicle.