New research has found that Liverpool is the most expensive UK city* for car insurance, with Manchester and Birmingham close behind.**
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Aberdeen was found to be the cheapest city for car insurance of the top 60 most populated UK cities, followed by Perth, both with an average quote under half the price of car insurance in Liverpool.
Motorists in Scottish cities tend to pay significantly less than their English counterparts, securing 6 of the top 10 spots, with Inverness, Dundee, Stirling and Edinburgh joining Aberdeen and Perth.
Surprisingly, London was only the fifth most expensive city, with an average quote well over double that of Aberdeen.
While the most expensive cities are generally the most populous, and the cheapest cities the least, there are a selection of outliers. Aberdeen, Swansea and Edinburgh feature among the top 10 least pricey cities, despite being more densely populated than most.
“Location is one of the most important factors determining car insurance costs” says Jessica Potts of BookMyGarage.com. “The majority of claims occur within just five miles of the driver’s home, so residing in areas with higher theft and accident rates impacts premiums.****
“While the research shows what a typical driver in these locations can expect to pay, it doesn’t cover every eventuality. Some may find their circumstances produce different results. The study does give us an intriguing insight into the regional difference across the UK - it is certainly good news for some.”
Liverpool is recognised as a car theft hotspot, with data released last year revealing that the ‘L’ postcode area had the fifth worst theft rate in the UK, with 9.6 per 1,000 claims in the UK attributed to theft.*****
Karen Rotberg, Co-Founder and CMO of BookMyGarage, added: “We all want to save money on our car insurance, but the real winners consider the cost of car ownership as a whole. Other annual costs such as MOTs and servicing play their part, and cities where car insurance is relatively cheap end up being quite expensive after all.”
Previous research revealed that regional service and MOT prices may vary by up to 60% across England and Wales.
| City | Average quote | Rank |
| Aberdeen | £309.14 | 1 |
| Perth | £324.64 | 2 |
| Truro | £325.20 | 3 |
| Inverness | £339.42 | 4 |
| Winchester | £347.10 | 5 |
| Swansea | £347.59 | 6 |
| Dundee | £354.28 | 7 |
| Hereford | £360.00 | 8 |
| Stirling | £373.52 | 9 |
| Edinburgh | £374.83 | 10 |
| Exeter | £376.36 | 11 |
| Oxford | £387.01 | 12 |
| Bath | £389.95 | 13 |
| Lincoln | £391.93 | 14 |
| Cambridge | £395.78 | 15 |
| York | £395.92 | 16 |
| Plymouth | £398.13 | 17 |
| Lisburn | £399.89 | 18 |
| Salisbury | £403.08 | 19 |
| Worcester | £405.92 | 20 |
| Chichester | £426.21 | 21 |
| Litchfield | £426.44 | 22 |
| Lancaster | £427.48 | 23 |
| Carlisle | £427.50 | 24 |
| Porstmouth | £432.61 | 25 |
| Canterbury | £440.57 | 26 |
| Newport | £441.62 | 27 |
| Durham | £443.43 | 28 |
| Norwich | £444.55 | 29 |
| Chelmsford | £447.87 | 30 |
| Gloucester | £450.91 | 31 |
| Southampton | £451.05 | 32 |
| Wakefield | £463.39 | 33 |
| St Albans | £476.13 | 34 |
| Bristol | £487.13 | 35 |
| Brighton | £498.37 | 36 |
| Derry | £503.69 | 37 |
| Glasgow | £517.50 | 38 |
| Chester | £522.19 | 39 |
| Peterborough | £525.10 | 40 |
| Sunderland | £542.85 | 41 |
| Leicester | £559.55 | 42 |
| Derby | £559.96 | 43 |
| Hull | £563.90 | 44 |
| Leeds | £590.40 | 45 |
| Cardiff | £596.92 | 46 |
| Wolverhampton | £601.82 | 47 |
| Newcastle | £618.44 | 48 |
| Coventry | £625.60 | 49 |
| Stoke | £632.05 | 50 |
| Preston | £640.16 | 51 |
| Belfast | £699.13 | 52 |
| Salford | £708.68 | 53 |
| Nottingham | £709.44 | 54 |
| Sheffield | £713.03 | 55 |
| London | £725.60 | 56 |
| Bradford | £736.77 | 57 |
| Birmingham | £738.67 | 58 |
| Manchester | £848.97 | 59 |
| Liverpool | £884.51 | 60 |
Notes:
* Data analysis covered the top 60 UK cities by population.
**According to research conducted in November 2020, using a typical driver and vehicle profile (available on request), with variables according to postcodes analysed.
***Cities analysed by postcode, using random addresses within districts close to the centre of each city.
****90% of all car insurance claims occur with five miles of the driver’s home, according to Comparethemarket.com
*****According to data released by Moneysupermarket, revealing how susceptible each postcode is to car theft
