Consumer Council Launches Four-pronged Campaign To Lower Car Insurance In Northern Ireland
Wednesday 31 August 2011
The Consumer Council is today launching a four-pronged campaign to reduce the high cost of car insurance in Northern Ireland.
The consumer body is making a formal submission to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to enable it to examine the car insurance market here. Alongside this, the Consumer Council is launching an online petition (www.consumercouncil.org.uk) for consumers to pledge their support and provide comments about their experiences purchasing car insurance (these consumer stories will be submitted to the OFT as further evidence). The Consumer Council will also present the signatures to the Northern Ireland Assembly as evidence that consumers here want action to reduce premiums.
The Consumer Council is also calling today on the Department for Justice and the NI Assembly’s Justice Committee to examine the impact of the costs associated with claims here (e.g. compensation, legal/admin fees) and has plans to meet the Environment Minister to ask for practical initiatives to support younger drivers.
Consumer Council chief executive, Antoinette McKeown explains: “Car insurance premiums have increased by almost 73 per cent[1] in the last two years and the situation is even worse for younger drivers whose premiums have increased by a staggering 112 per cent. The average yearly car insurance premium is now £923.90and with the increasing cost of fuel the Consumer Council is concerned it will force some people off the road altogether, or lead to an increase in motorists driving illegally without insurance.
“The Consumer Council is using every channel at our disposal to tackle the high cost of car insurance in Northern Ireland. By working with the Office of Fair Trading, the NI Executive and Assembly, as well as consumers themselves, we are doing all we can to lower premiums in Northern Ireland.
“Consumers can really help us with the campaign by visiting www.consumercouncil.org.uk, signing our ‘Lower Car Insurance’ petition and telling us about their car insurance experiences. Anyone without internet access can also sign our petition and give their comments by calling the Consumer Council on 0800 121 6022. We are asking people to tell everyone they know about our Lower Car Insurance petition and encourage them to sign. People can also get a free copy of the Consumer Council’s ‘Driving Down the Cost of Car Insurance’ leaflet which aims to help people get the best deal for their needs.”
Notes to Editors:
· Consumers can sign the online petition by visiting the Consumer Council website www.consumercouncil.org.uk and clicking on the Lower Car Insurance link on the home page.
· The Consumer Council has launched its car insurance campaign to help NI motorists against a backdrop of:
· Households in NI spending on average around 35 per cent more on energy compared to the UK average.
· Expenditure on food is also around 14 per cent higher in NI.
· Across all expenditure items households in NI spend around 5 per cent more than the UK average.
(Figures are from the Family Expenditure Survey 2010 (2009 prices).
· NI consumers have faced the highest price within the UK for petrol, diesel or both every month so far in 2011. (Source: AA Fuel Price Report)
Historically, NI consumers pay on average £300 more for car insurance than GB (Source: “Quote… Unquote: The Cost of Car Insurance in Northern Ireland. A research report from the Consumer Council” (March 2009) – the Consumer Council has been pressing the NI Assembly for an investigation into the cost of insurance here since we launched our research report “Quote, Unquote” in March 2009
ENDS
- Consumer Council media contact: Irene Overend, telephone, 028 9067 4816 or 079 2018 7308 or e-mail, ioverend@consumercouncil.org.uk
- The Consumer Council is an independent consumer organisation, working to bring about change to benefit Northern Ireland’s consumers. The Council campaigns for high standards of service and protection and a fair deal for all. It also carries out research, gives advice and publishes reports and other publications. It deals with individual complaints about buses, trains, planes, ferries, natural gas, electricity, coal and water.
- For more information, visit our website at www.consumercouncil.org.uk
Related Documents
- ''Quote...Unquote'' The Cost of Insurance in Northern Ireland - 1.7MB PDF Document
- Briefing on Car Insurance - 44.0KB DOC Document
- Driving down the cost of car insurance - 1.6MB PDF Document
