The main reason for the higher premiums in the area is the high car crime rate. The main theme running through the most expensive areas table is that these areas are all considered “high risk”.

Richard Mason, director of Finance at Moneysupermarket said: “Insurers weight these factors differently, so anyone who finds their insurance premiums too high would do well to shop around every year instead of renewing with the same insurer. This should save them a great deal of money.”

Most expensive areas:
         

It is likely that those areas considered “high risk” will see the price of their premiums increase further as perceived risk is taken into account more and more in premium calculations.

The result is that places like Bolton, Liverpool and East London, where car crime is relatively frequent will see inflated premiums as opposed to areas in Scotland and the South West where car crime is not so frequent.

Figures for vehicle theft in 2006 from the Home Office show that in Taunton, where the average car insurance premium was £149.95, there  were 0.2 vehicle thefts per 1000 population; Hackney in East London, where premiums average £315.01, had 2 vehicle thefts per 1000 population

Cheapest areas:

So the best advice appears to be – Shop around.

It seems the best option for reducing car insurance premiums is to look around for the best deal. To do this you don’t have to ring up or visit any insurers in person, simply go to a comparison site such as Moneysupermarket or Fool.co.uk where you can compare car, home and life insurance.

A second method is to use panel insurers who will compare the best deals from a number of car insurance companies and give you a summary to choose from. Examples of panel insurers include Endsleigh and Asda Car Insurance, who use a panel of 20 insurers.