According to the Daily Star – in one of it’s more lucid (and less pornographic) moments – “the soaring cost of car insurance” is to be probed by a government watchdog.
Apparently, everyone is paying up to 40% more per year for insurance.
It cites young drivers being quoted a “whopping” £2,300 on a Vauxhall Corsa (typical chavmobile) worth £1,450, and how they’d “celebrate” if prices were cut.
A simple bit of arithmetic shows that if we weren’t all paying that extra 40%, young drivers would be having quotes of £1,650 instead. So that must be “minuscule” then, if we stick with the Star’s favoured style.
The Star appears to ignore the Co-op’s spokesman:
The main reason for [high insurance] is the large number of accidents caused by young drivers.
I’ll tell you what’s behind the price hikes affecting everyone else, though: the recession.
Every company out there is trying to maintain it’s profitability in the face as higher costs and falling sales. For companies whose income depends purely on people paying for a service, it’s fairly obvious how you maintain the balance.