Car insurance finally being investigated
Posted by Susannah Mayers
If you're unhappy with the current cost of your car insurance then you may well be pleased to hear that the Transport Committee is going to reopen its inquiry into this matter.
It has decided to do this as further concerns have been raised about the ever-increasing cost of insurance premiums.
Jack Straw MP has been called to give oral evidence at a meeting of the committee in the autumn, the exact date of which has yet to be announced.
A number of other witnesses will also be called to share facts and their opinions on the matter.
Mr Straw has published a paper on the rising cost of premiums, which covers a number of the issues raised in the committee's 2011 report, titled The Cost of Motor Insurance.
This includes the recent increase in the number of personal injury claims that are being made following car accidents and the role of claims management companies.
It also includes the referral fees paid by solicitors and others to manage aspects of the claims process.
MP Louise Ellman, the chair of the Transport Committee, said: "Motorists continue to suffer as premiums increase and there is mounting evidence that the insurance industry itself is part of the problem."
"Jack Straw's research is a powerful contribution to the debate and as well as hearing what he has to say I will want to hold the insurance industry and the government to account," she added.
Last month, new legislation designed to reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the roads in the UK was introduced.
Called the Continuous Insurance Enforcement law, the legislation makes it illegal not only to drive without insurance, but keep a vehicle that is not insured.
Those who have an uninsured vehicle that has not been declared as off the road will face a £100 fine and could have their car clamped, seized and destroyed.
Do you think that car insurance premiums are too high at the moment? 
Car insurance is stupidly expensive. They are probably being inflated by:
o No win no fee solicitors that can encourage spurious claims.
o Modern cars with crumple zones that increase safety, but also increase repair costs.
o Complex, expensive car design making replacements hard.
The upcoming legislation on gender discrimination worries me. If insurers are no longer allowed to base premiums on such a basic, measurable factor as gender, we may end up with a flat rate insurance that does not discriminate against any group – but pushes the costs of insurance from poor and your drivers on to safer drivers.