Car insurance cover extended during lockdown

Insurers have extended cover for people who are having to use their car to get to work owing to Covid restrictions.

Motorists who find they now have to use their car to commute to and from work will not need to contact their insurer about the change in circumstances.

The extension, until 30 April, also covers volunteers helping with the vaccine roll-out or grocery deliveries.

The cost of vehicle insurance dropped slightly last year but journey frequency has fallen too.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said that the average price paid for comprehensive motor insurance last year was £465. This was a fall of 1% compared with 2019, taking it to its lowest level since 2016. 

Laura Hughes, from the ABI, said: "Despite a year like no other, it is good to see that during 2020 motorists continued to get the best deals in a competitive motor insurance market.

"In addition, the extra support that insurers continue to give to motorists during this uncertain and unsettling time is helping drivers adapt to this new normal."

Motorists may have thought that premiums could have fallen further owing to the reduction in journeys during various lockdowns.

Data shows that fewer and shorter journeys were made, which would suggest fewer accidents. Claims data is not released by insurers.

Some insurers gave a rebate to policyholders during the year to reflect the change in circumstances.

The ABI said that insurers were open to discussions from their customers, if they felt they too should be reimbursed if they travelled far fewer miles than had been anticipated when the policy was taken out.

It said people left struggling financially by the pandemic could also ask insurers to organise payments by instalments to manage the cost.