The report provides market-wide analysis of the dynamics impacting performance across the U.K. motor insurance sector.
Key Points:
• On average, 30,000 people per day shopped for a better motor insurance deal in H2 2024, up 4% on the same period in 2023
• One in four consumers switched to another insurance provider in 2024, compared to one in five in 2023
• The top 10 motor insurance providers won 400,000 more policies from the rest of the market but lost 420,000 to the rest of the market
• Motor policy cancellations climbed across the board
While motor policy switching activity dipped after the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ban on price walking in January 2022, it returned to elevated levels in 2024, as the cost-of-living crisis combined with a rise in insurance premiums prompted consumers in the U.K. to seek out cheaper motor insurance cover.
Cancellations remain a significant challenge for the market, leading to a cancellation rate of 13% among the top 10 insurers and 18% for the rest of the market. The lower rate of cancellation amongst the big insurance providers suggests these insurers are benefiting from increasingly robust customer verification processes at the point of application, quote and policy onboarding.
Tom Lawrie-Fussey, senior director of insurance product management, U.K. and Ireland, LexisNexis Risk Solutions said: “Our analysis shows that the U.K. motor insurance market went from one in five consumers switching motor insurance providers in 2023 to one in four in 2024. This underlines the price competitiveness in the market and the ease with which consumers are now able to shop and change insurance providers.
“We see motor insurance premiums now levelling off with some insurance providers suggesting the price surges seen in the last few years have ended. Due to initiatives such as the Motor Insurance Taskforce, insurance providers are working collaboratively to tackle the factors that have contributed to higher premiums, and we should see more price competition in the market. Cost-of-living pressures remain, and therefore it is likely that shopping and switching activity in motor insurance will stay elevated in 2025.
“While the big insurance providers appear to be more equipped to select and retain a more favourable profile of risk, the rest of the market appears to be catching up, with the top ten losing marginally more business than they won in the final quarter of 2024. As costs for insurance providers ease, niche providers should remain in a strong position to compete effectively into 2025.”
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