Younger drivers see costs rise 3.7% year-on-year whereas over-50s profit from 6.7% deflation.
Market stabilises as correction part eases
Quoted automobile insurance coverage premiums fell 3.3% within the 12 months to the top of January 2026. This compares to 9.1% annual deflation recorded three months earlier.
Over the previous three months, pricing was broadly steady at -0.1%, indicating that the sharp part of value correction seen beforehand is not evident.
Throughout the entire market, the common Rank 1–5 new enterprise quoted premium was £1,194 in January 2026 in comparison with £1,259 in January 2025.
Laura Vas, Senior Perception Analyst at Shopper Intelligence, says:
“The headline suggests stability, however segmentation inside the market stays pronounced. The tempo of deflation has slowed considerably, and pricing is now plateauing at an general stage fairly than persevering with the sharp downward adjustment seen earlier within the 12 months.
“Now we have not noticed the big annual price actions from main teams that characterised earlier cycles, and there may be at present no clear proof of a hardening market. Nevertheless, this relative stability in comparison with latest years could sign that the softened situations seen by 2025 are approaching an inflection level.”
Affordability improves general, however erratically
Drivers mostly obtained a quote between £250 and £499, with 28% of quotes falling on this vary and 24% between £500 and £749.
In January 2026, 65% of drivers have been in a position to supply a quote under £750 from PCWs, up from 62% twelve months earlier.
By age group, 82% of over-50s may supply a quote under £750, in comparison with 65% of drivers aged 25 to 49 and 32% of under-25s.
Whereas accessibility has improved at an mixture stage, the distribution of reasonably priced pricing stays uneven throughout age teams.
Below-25s stay structurally separate
Premium actions proceed to diverge by age.
Over the previous 12 months, premiums fell 6.7% for over-50s and three.2% for drivers aged 25 to 49. Below-25s have been the one age group to expertise annual inflation, with a 3.7% improve.
In the newest quarter, under-25 premiums fell 1.9%, whereas drivers aged 25 to 49 noticed a marginal improve of 0.5% and over-50s have been broadly flat at 0.1%.
Vas provides:
“Youthful drivers stay on a distinct pricing trajectory to the remainder of the market. Though quarterly actions have eased, they’re nonetheless the one section going through upward annual strain.”
Telematics competitors steady, positioning shifts
Telematics suppliers accounted for 16% of Rank 1–5 quotes in January 2026, unchanged since July 2025.
Telematics competitiveness elevated by one share level to fifteen% amongst drivers aged 25 to 49, whereas it decreased by one share level amongst over-50s.
The rise amongst drivers aged 25 to 49 mirrored Hastings Direct YouDrive decreasing premiums to achieve Rank 1–5 share, whereas non-telematics suppliers akin to Esure and Zego lowered their presence after elevating costs.
Amongst over-50s, YouDrive misplaced share following a footprint discount for over-65s, whereas Direct Line and RAC gained competitiveness after decreasing premiums.
Vas feedback:
“Total telematics competitors is regular, however small shifts in underwriting footprint and pricing technique proceed to affect which suppliers seem best throughout completely different age teams.”
Regional divergence persists
Premiums decreased yearly in 9 of 11 British areas. The most important annual reductions have been recorded within the North West (-8.6%) and Wales (-8.3%).
London (+7.3%) and Scotland (+3.9%) have been the one areas to expertise annual inflation.
London now has the very best common Rank 1–5 premium at £1,557, whereas the South West stays the bottom at £828.
Within the newest quarter, London and Scotland continued to document inflation (+3.6% and +3.1% respectively), whereas the North West noticed the most important quarterly lower (-4.0%).
Vas says:
“Regional pricing situations stay uneven. Whereas most areas are experiencing annual easing, London and Scotland proceed to maneuver in the wrong way.”
|
Area |
12-month change |
3-month change |
Avg premium (R1-5) |
|
London |
+7.3% |
+3.6% |
£1,557 |
|
Scotland |
+3.9% |
+3.1% |
£1,278 |
|
Jap |
-3.5% |
+1.4% |
£933 |
|
West Midlands |
-3.8% |
-0.8% |
£1,224 |
|
East Midlands |
-4.1% |
-0.9% |
£993 |
|
Yorkshire & Humber |
-4.4% |
-0.6% |
£1,287 |
|
North East |
-5.2% |
-1.7% |
£1,189 |
|
South West |
-5.3% |
+0.2% |
£828 |
|
South East |
-5.9% |
-0.2% |
£1,090 |
|
Wales |
-8.3% |
+0.2% |
£879 |
|
North West |
-8.6% |
-4.0% |
£1,462 |
Desk sorted by 12-month value index change, descending
Lengthy-term view
Common general quoted premiums have risen 97.1% since October 2013 when Shopper Intelligence first began amassing knowledge.
Over that interval, premiums elevated 116.9% for drivers aged 25 to 49 and 116.5% for over-50s, in comparison with 38.0% for under-25s.
The Shopper Intelligence Automotive Insurance coverage Worth Index is compiled utilizing actual buyer quotes from value comparability web sites (PCWs).
For every threat, frequent to consecutive months, the variation is calculated from the common of the 5 most cost-effective premiums returned on every PCW within the earlier month to the common of the highest 5 within the present month, no matter which manufacturers offered these quotes. The train is repeated on every PCW for every frequent threat.
The general market high 5 month-to-month variation is calculated by averaging throughout all these threat stage high 5 variations for frequent dangers run in each months. The month-to-month figures are concatenated as much as produce the trended value index from a place to begin of 100% within the base month.
Pattern measurement: roughly 3,600 dangers monthly. Final knowledge from 31 January 2026.