For UK motorists, accepting a renewal quote received in the post is not always the cheapest option. Research from price comparison website moneysupermarket.com found that many car insurers were taking unfair advantage of customer loyalty.
Richard Mason, director of insurance at moneysupermarket.com, said: “This is a disappointing trend from many insurers . A renewal quote should be even more competitive than the previous year, yet providers seem to be relying on people’s apathy to increase their own profits.”
Moneysupermarke.com found that where an insurer had provided one of the three cheapest quotes for a driver the year before, 12 months down the line the renewal quote was, on average, more than double that of the cheapest quote.
The site says that the “renewal trap” is an easy one to fall into. Customers could end up paying hundreds or, in extreme cases, thousands of pounds more than they need to. Mason added that it required very little extra effort for drivers to ensure that they weren’t paying over the odds for their car insurance .