written by Lee Griffin
Introduction
There are many factors which can affect how much you pay for your car insurance, including your age, your occupation and where you live. Other major factors include the make, model and age of the car you drive, and your claims history.
For example, for a driver with 5 years no claims, it would cost £525.35* to insure a Vauxhall Corsa – that's £200 cheaper than the premium would be on a Toyota Prius (£725.84)*. Similarly, the same driver would pay £525.35* – 27% less – for their car insurance than a driver of the same car with an at-fault accident claim in the last year (£725.84)*.
While a no-fault claim won’t see your premium rise as much as an at-fault claim, making any claim will almost always lead to an increase in your premium. If you don’t make a claim after an accident, some insurers will still increase your premium, due to them seeing you as more likely to be involved in another accident later on. That’s why it’s crucial you’re shopping around for the best deal.
Lee Griffin
Founding member of GoCompare
Given these factors have such an impact on car insurance premiums, we’ve analysed GOV.UK datasets to see which car makes, models, and drivers have the highest proportion of accidents across Great Britain.
* Based on a 30-year-old single female, drives a Vauxhall Corsa compared to a Toyota Prius, 12k miles a year, works as an accountant, 12 years NCB compared to 5 years NCB, at fault claim compared to no claim, driving in peak times, comprehensive standard policy, £250 excess, paying annually.
Accident rate by make and model
Which makes and models are most frequently involved in accidents? In 2016, 22,490 Vauxhall vehicles were involved in an incident – proportionally that’s 62 in every 10,000 Vauxhall cars on the road.
The Toyota Prius tops the table as the model most frequently involved in accidents. In 2016, 71,005 of these eco-friendly vehicles were on the road and 787 were involved in accidents – proportionally that's 111 in every 10,000 Priuses (or Prii as Toyota claim is 'proper' plural).
VAUXHALL
62 in 10,000
DAEWOO
60 in 10,000
SEAT
60 in 10,000
MITSUBISHI
56 in 10,000
RENAULT
55 in 10,000
Make
No. of Accidents
TOYOTA PRIUS
111 in 10,000
CITROEN SAXO
106 in 10,000
BMW 330D
102 in 10,000
BMW 530D
85 in 10,000
PEUGEOT 106
84 in 10,000
Model
No. of Accidents
Accidents and locations
Are Londoners the most accident-prone behind the wheel?
It certainly seems so. In 2016, for every 10,000 cars on the road in London, 101 had accidents. Digging deeper into the stats for the individual boroughs in London, for every 10,000 cars on the road, 1,200 had accidents in the City.
Accidents and locations
Are Londoners the most accident-prone behind the wheel?
It certainly seems so. In 2016, for every 10,000 cars on the road in London, 101 had accidents. Digging deeper into the stats for the individual boroughs in London, for every 10,000 cars on the road, 1,200 had accidents in the City.
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+ 100 in 10,000
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40 - 90 in 10,000
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30 - 39 in 10,000
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20 - 29 in 10,000
Age of drivers involved in accidents
Whilst young drivers have a reputation for recklessness, drivers in the 26-35 age bracket are involved in more accidents than their younger counterparts. Of all the accidents recorded in 2016, close to a quarter (23.94%) involved drivers aged between 26 and 35.
Speed limits and accidents
If you imagined that the majority of car accidents took place on motorways, you’d be wrong. In 2016, nearly 80,000 car accidents occurred in 30mph speed zones. That’s nearly 10 times the number of accidents that took place on 70mph limit roads.
Speed Limit
Count of speed limit
Where do accidents happen the most?
In 2016, 705 car accidents took place on the A4. The A23 with 668 accidents, and the A38 with 656, are the roads which come in second and third respectively.
Road Name
No. of Accidents
Conclusion
So what have we learned here?
Well, people complain about Prius and BMW drivers being reckless, and the data would appear to support this: 111 out of every 10,000 Priuses (or Prii), 102 in every 10,000 BMW 330Ds, and 85 in every 10,000 BMW 530Ds are involved in accidents.
But are these accident rates reflected in insurance premiums for these vehicles?
Actually, when comparing premiums on a like-for-like basis, there's not a great deal of difference. The insurance premium for a Toyota Prius would cost £725.84. The same driver's insurance premium for a BMW 330D or BMW 530D would cost £774.17 – 6% more expensive*. It could be that the accident rates associated with vehicle makes and models aren't playing a big part in determining the cost of premiums.
Conversely, government data suggests Londoners fully deserve their reputation as bad drivers, with accidents happening here at a higher rate than anywhere else in Great Britain. Unsurprisingly this is reflected in insurance premiums: a driver in Edinburgh would need to pay £426.30 to insure their Vauxhall Corsa, while the same driver in London would pay £594.10, close to 40% more.â€
Cars with smaller engines (under 1000cc) generally fall into lower insurance groups, meaning lower premiums. Building up a good driving record and no claims discount in a smaller car means paying less if you do want to move on to bigger, faster cars later. Cars with larger engines will fall in to a higher insurance group, as they’re more powerful and therefore seen as riskier on the road. It’s also worth noting that even if you purchase a high group rated vehicle for very little money, it’s still deemed a high risk and potentially not as safe on the road due to its age, therefore carrying a higher premium.
Lee Griffin
Founding member of GoCompare
* Premium cost for Toyota Prius (£725.84) compared to premium cost for BMW 530D (£774.17) and premium cost for BMW 330D (£774.17), which equates to 6% more than the Prius cost. Based on a 30-year-old single female, 12k miles a year, works as an accountant, 12 years NCB, driving in peak times, comprehensive standard policy, £250 excess, paying annually. GoCompare data, correct as of 22.02.19.
†Based on a 30-year-old single female, drives a Vauxhall Corsa, 12k miles a year, accountant, living in London compared to living in Edinburgh, 12 years NCB, driving in peak times, comprehensive standard policy, £250 excess, paying annually. 40% difference calculated from premium cost for driver in London - £594.10 and premium cost for the same driver and car in Edinburgh - £426.30.
