UK car insurance has risen to £719, the first increase since the start of 2023. The average policy is now £8 higher than three months ago, and motorists renewing soon could face a higher bill than they have been used to for much of the past two years.
Matt Crole-Rees and the £719 average
£719 is the new average car insurance policy cost in the UK, and it marks a clear break from the recent run of falling prices. Matt Crole-Rees, a motoring expert at Confused.com, said drivers have had a useful period of lower costs, but that recent months show prices beginning to edge up again.
“Drivers have benefitted from car insurance price drops for some time now.” “But now we're seeing that prices are starting to increase slightly in recent months, which means motorists could soon see their price increase when it comes to their renewal.”
£8 is the three-month rise, which takes the average from £711 to £719. That is a modest move in cash terms, but it ends a run that had held since the start of 2023 and signals that the latest pricing cycle has turned. For households renewing policies, the difference is showing up at the point when many drivers are forced to shop again rather than stay on the same rate.
Confused.com and the 28-day rule
53% is the size of the saving drivers could see by buying around 28 days before the renewal deadline rather than waiting until the renewal date. In practical terms, the rule is straightforward: the earlier quote is materially cheaper than the last-minute one, so timing now matters as much as the headline average. Matt Crole-Rees described being organised as the way to capture that gap.
38% is how much more expensive the average car insurance premium in 2026 is than five years ago, even after the recent falls. Over the last 12 months, prices were still down five per cent on average, so the latest rise sits on top of a longer pattern that is easing rather than staying flat. If that slowdown keeps reversing, renewals could move back above levels drivers have already spent years trying to avoid.
£719 is the figure drivers should anchor on when comparing renewal quotes, but the sharper lesson is the timing around it. A quote taken 28 days early has a very different price profile from one taken at the deadline, and the gap is large enough to change what many households pay out at renewal.
