New research carried out by the Central Bank has suggested that consumers could save around €300 by shopping around when renewing their car insurance.
While switching could be the way to go to save motorists money, people are also encouraged to ensure what type of cover is being offered as well as the price.
Speaking to Ciara Doherty on The Claire Byrne Show on the study was Minister of State with Responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance, Robert Troy, who highlighted how premiums are 37.6% lower than they were in the peak of July 2016.
He shared: "We have seen significant progress being made on the cost of motor insurance due to the reforms that was introduced by this government and previous government, the rebalancing of the duty of care, introducing the personal injury guidelines, reforming the injuries resolution board.
"And now we have a situation where premiums are 37.6% lower than they were in the peak of July 2016. And last month, we received confirmation that they're 5.4% lower year on year.
"So, that's a real positive body of work that has been done, that is contributing significantly to premium reductions.
"And as part of our approach to ensuring that the consumer gets the best price for their policy, we want to empower the consumers to make better decisions and that's why we, earlier this year, devised the transparency code."
This transparency code ensures that when a motorist is renewing their premium, they can see a full breakdown of how their premium is set.
The aim is to empower the consumer so that when they go shopping around for a better deal, they can see exactly what is being covered and how the prices match up.
However, the data released also indicated that only 9% of motorists switch their policy when renewing it.
Minister Troy explained: "I think we have a body of work to do in relation to financial literacy and part of that body of work is the transparency code.
"Sometimes it may have been difficult to compare policies because it wasn't clear, but the new transparency code, which all insurance companies have signed up to, which consumers will now start to receive when they receive their renewal premium, gives a clear unambiguous breakdown."
"I don't think enough people are aware [at how much they could save] and we need to continue to reinforce the message that there are ways to make better decisions."
Main image: Red toy car on ascending stacks of coins. Pic: Alamy
