(Reuters) - Quarterly comprehensive car insurance premiums in Britain rose 4.8 percent, the biggest rise since 2010, according to Confused.com's car price insurance index.
The increase, which has been steady for the past year, pushed the average premium for an annual comprehensive car insurance policy to £629 ($965.45), data from price comparison website Confused.com and consultants Towers Watson & Co showed.
The upward trend in car premiums for the last 12 months puts Hastings Insurance's IPO in a sweet spot and gives much needed relief to car insurance companies such as RSA Insurance Group Plc (LONDON:RSA), Admiral Group Plc (LONDON:ADML), Direct Line Insurance Group Plc (LONDON:DLGD) and esure Group Plc, which have been finding the market increasingly competitive.
"The increase in insurance premium tax due in November will, of course, compound the effects of these trends on prices," UK Head of P&C Pricing at Towers Watson, Stephen Jones said.
Third-party fire and theft policy (TPFT) average quoted premiums rose 7 percent in this quarter, up 10 percent annually, the company said.
Commenting on the impact of driverless cars on premiums, Jones said, "For all the talk of driverless cars, the effects of the creeping uptake of driver assist technology is yet to impact materially on premium levels driven by established cyclical and inflationary trends."
