Drivers in Northern Ireland have reason to be hopeful for a better deal these days. The Consumer’s Council has launched a campaign to reduce the cost of car insurance.
The problems they are looking into include, among others, the fact that Premiums across the Province have shot up by 73% in the last year, and the fact that young drivers pay almost twice as much for an insurance.
The Council is asking the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to grant it permission to examine the market in Northern Ireland, and is inviting consumers to give their support via an online petition, which is also an efficient way to vent their frustrations and signal what problems they’re experiencing.
The watchdog’s chief executive, Antoinette McKeown, comments: “The average yearly car insurance premium is now £923.90 and 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.”
It is a known fact that residents of Northern Ireland usually pay up to £300 more for their car insurance than in the UK generally, and, what is more, the region is experiencing the highest prices for petrol and Diesel out of all the provinces in the UK.