For drivers across the UK, renewing their car insurance is usually a forgettable piece of annual admin. Today, it has become a confounding, painful exercise after premiums soared to an all-time high.
Many drivers have seen their premiums double, and in some cases the squeeze is more extreme — young drivers facing premiums in the thousands of pounds, and some Range Rover drivers as much as tens of thousands of pounds after a spate of thefts. Consumer groups have declared an affordability crisis and the government has promised to intervene.
Barry North, who lives in Surrey, drives a Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate, travelling less than 5,000 miles a year. It cost about £660 to insure two years ago; that jumped to just over £1,000 the following year and this year has reached £1,780, despite no claims over all that time.