Cash-strapped Brits may like to have a grumble about the way prices for everything under the sun are rising, but it seems that many of us are not doing the basics to keep our outgoings down each month.
When you get your motor insurance renewal notice, are you one of the 6.4 million motorists who renew blindly? If so, you could be throwing money down the drain to the tune, on average, of a staggering £270 a year.
Research from moneysupermarket.com has revealed that car insurance is one area where loyalty really does not pay. Insurance companies are, of course, always keen to get new customers and will often offer competitive deals to lure us into signing on the dotted line but after the first year premiums frequently rocket.
Almost one fifth of us (19% to be precise) refuse to take the time to see whether or not we could get a better deal and renew blindly. Reasons for this range from apathy (8%), to the belief that we would not find a better bargain anyway (11%). As far as age is concerned, the over 55s are the worst culprits, with 21% not bothering to shop around.
The costs of running a car have risen sharply in the last twelve months and the recent troubles in the Middle East have meant that petrol prices have soared. It is therefore all the more surprising that so many of us are not bothering to see whether we can cut costs.
Insurance companies are well aware of customers’ behaviour and rely on our apathy to bolster profits. As a whole, the nation is spending £1.7 billion more than necessary, by neglecting to spend the relatively short time needed to compare prices.
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