Sainsbury's car insurance index launched

A new Sainsbury's car insurance index has been launched which aims to highlight the importance to the consumer of shopping around for car insurance to get the best deal.

The Sainsbury's car insurance index will track market premiums every quarter in order to highlight the significant differences in premiums offered by different insurers.

The bank claims that, based on new research, it offered some of the most competitive premiums available from November 2004 to April 2005, meaning that motorists with Sainsbury's car insurance could have saved up to £180.

The index also found that during the same period the market average car insurance premium was £458.92, while the difference in average premiums between the 25 per cent most expensive car insurers and the 25 per cent most competitive was £108.55.

Joanne Mallon, car insurance manager at Sainsbury's, said: "The car insurance industry is very competitive, which is good news for motorists as they can save a lot of money by shopping around.

"Sadly, despite this, one in five motorists obtains only one quote when they buy car insurance."

The index also showed that women paid on average £91.54 less for their insurance than men. Age was also a factor: motorists under 25 paid around £917.59 for their cover compared with £428.63 for over 65s.