British Insurance Premium Index

Latest car and home insurance prices

Car and home insurance news – 2018 quarter 4

  • Car insurance – 2.7% quarter rise on premiums after downward trend
  • Home insurance – premiums slightly up due to increased subsidence claims

The last BIPI

After a 25-year run, the AA has decided to end the British Insurance Premium Index in its present form. The Index has been tracking trends in pricing since 1994, but will now be replaced with a consumer focused report on a wider range of insurance issues.

Janet Connor, director of AA Insurance, says: "The AA British Insurance Premium Index has played an important role in benchmarking the costs of how consumers insure two of their most prized and valuable possessions.

"However, as insurance concerns become more varied and consumers become more aware of the details of their insurance policies, it feels right to draw BIPI in its current form to a close. So we're looking at a more innovative way of understanding consumers' need for insurance and their reaction to market changes.

"The insurance market focuses very much on price, which can be at the expense of the benefits in a policy. Our new report, which will begin later in 2019, will explore what customers think of the changing insurance market place, and what they consider when buying insurance, as well as what, and how, they pay for their premiums."

What does the British Insurance Premium Index do?

The Index has been tracking the quarterly movement of car and home insurance prices since 1994.

It measures the five cheapest quotes for each 'customer' to provide an average or Shoparound premium.

Car insurance

The Index records premium movements for 2,800 car insurance 'customers' throughout the UK, from around 80 providers. The Shoparound premium is an average of the cheapest five premiums returned for each 'customer' in each basket of risks, and is thus close to what customers pay for their cover.

Home insurance

For home insurance, average premium movements are calculated from 750 customers in each basket of risks separately for buildings, contents and combined covers and from about 70 insurers, brokers and schemes.

Aggregators

The Index started separately tracking for comparison sites (aggregators) from the fourth quarter 2009. The same baskets of risks for both home and car insurance are used to obtain prices from selected comparison sites, and works in the same way as the main Index.

British Insurance Premium Index archive

2018 quarter 3
Car insurance – downward trend continues, premiums drop by another 3.9%
Home insurance – premiums stall following recent rises

2018 quarter 2
Car insurance – falling premiums anticipate whiplash claim savings in Civil Liability Bill
Home insurance – insurers mop up after Beast from the East

2018 quarter 1
Car insurance – latest premium drop anticipates Civil Liability Bill
Home insurance – premiums stall after sustained increases


2017 quarter 4
Car insurance – second quarter fall in succession
Home insurance – two-year upward trend continues

2017 quarter 3
Car insurance – biggest quarterly drop since 2014
Home insurance – modest rise for buildings insurance, contents cover cost falls

2017 quarter 2
Car insurance – premiums at highest level for 23 years
Home insurance – upward premiums attributable to Insurance Premium Tax

2017 quarter 1
Car insurance – small average premium rise, but discount rate cut and IPT will increase prices
Home insurance – AA Index records little change


2016 quarter 4
Car insurance – premiums jump £35 over 3 months
Home insurance – IPT, Flood Re plus Brexit add to insurer costs

2016 quarter 3
Car insurance – shopping around pushes premiums up
Home insurance – mixed fortunes for home owners

2016 quarter 2
Car insurance – premiums start rising again
Home insurance – premiums up for the third successive quarter

2016 quarter 1
Car insurance – premiums stall over the first quarter
Home insurance – premiums rise, but still cheaper than five years ago


2015 quarter 4
Car insurance – largest quarterly premium rise since 2010, thanks to Insurance Premium Tax
Home insurance – premiums up for first time since 2011, due to IPT

2015 quarter 3
Car insurance – rise adds £26 to the average quote
Home insurance – at five-year low

2015 quarter 2
Car insurance – premiums bounce off the bottom
Tax hike to push up home insurance premiums

2015 quarter 1
Car insurance – premiums fall again
Good news for homeowners too – insurance premiums fall


2014 quarter 4
Car insurance – rise falters
Little movement in home insurance premiums

2014 quarter 3
Fall in car insurance premiums comes to an end
Home insurance – premiums still falling

2014 quarter 2
Car insurance premiums – biggest annual drop ever, 19.3% fall
Cost of home cover cheaper in real terms than 20 years ago

2014 quarter 1
Lowest car insurance premiums for three years
Flood claims fail to halt downward trend – home insurance remains "extremely good value for money"


2013 quarter 4
Another record fall as car premium plunge continues
Market average home contents insurance at a ten-year low

2013 quarter 3
Competition forces another record drop in car premiums for third quarter
Downward home premium trend continues for sixth successive quarter

2013 quarter 2
Biggest ever annual car insurance premium drop

2013 quarter 1
Legal reforms bring cost savings for car insurance
Home insurance premiums fall despite flood concerns


2012 quarter 4
Downward car premium trend masks car insurance gender extremes
Buildings and contents insurance see small rises

2012 quarter 3
Young driver premiums falling after two years of sustained increases
Washout summer brings home insurance premium increases

2012 quarter 2
Contrasting car premium movements for second quarter
Small premium falls for buildings and contents cover

2012 quarter 1
Annual motor premium increase 7.7% – smallest since 2008
Small premium rise for buildings, small fall for contents


2011 quarter 4
AA's benchmark Index shows 15% annual premium increase
Weather claims put pressure on home premiums

2011 quarter 3
Car insurance – premiums fall by just £2
Home insurance – premiums still rising

2011 quarter 2
Car insurance – increases ease, home premiums see slight fall

2011 quarter 1
Shoparound average for car cover jumps 40% in 12 months
Home insurance – increases reflect record winter claims


2010 quarter 4
Shoparound premium increases by £210 in a year for car insurance
Cost of buildings cover reaches record high

2010 quarter 3
Young drivers hit in biggest annual premium increase
AA Index reveals big home insurance premium increases

2010 quarter 2
AA Index shows fraud pushes biggest car premium rise
Home insurance – premiums moving up

2010 quarter 1
Temporary respite in car premium rises
Buildings insurance continues to rise, contents premiums fall