VAN INSURANCE NEWS ROUNDUP: 7 DAYS ENDING 19 DEC 2014:
Well, it looks like there’s good news and there’s bad news when it comes to car insurance and van insurance costs in the UK. I hope you’re sitting down!
So here’s the bad news: a insurance comparison site recently found that comprehensive insurance costs went up last month. It wasn’t much – maybe around 0.3 per cent in the end – but it’s just one more nail in the coffin when it comes to the idea of dropping insurance costs. In fact, this is the third month in a row prices have gone up to the tune of around 2.1 per cent.
Again this is truly a drop in the bucket when it comes to the last three years of insurance price cuts that saw the industry shed 32.5 per cent of prices. So it’s kind of like the beginning of the end; have you ever been right atop a roller coaster before it plummets down at breakneck speed? It’s kind of like that right now, only with the amount of money you’ll have left over after prices start creeping up and not anything to deal with adrenaline or having a pleasant time.
So that’s the bad news; now for the good news. Oil prices, that have been in freefall for quite some time, could drive petrol prices under the £1 per litre threshold in the coming New Year. If you’re keeping score at home, the last time we had that kind of action on petrol was May of 2009!
So yes, the bad news is that we’re likely to see some insurance prices continue to ratchet up further and further as time goes on over the next few months or even years. However, with the price of petrol set to drop below £1 we could all see a bit less pain at the pump when we pull into the garage to top off our fuel tanks. It’s not the best alternative – especially since petrol prices do fluctuate that badly – but truly it’s better than nothing, isn’t it?
Well, most likely not. However, if you keep telling yourself that perhaps you’ll start believing it sooner or later, eh? I know it sounds cynical and bitter; what can I say besides ‘guilty as charged?’
