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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Car insurance market referred to Competition Commission | Car insurance market referred to Competition Commission |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The market for car insurance has been referred to the Competition Commission for investigation on the basis that it is not working well for motorists. | The market for car insurance has been referred to the Competition Commission for investigation on the basis that it is not working well for motorists. |
| The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) made the referral because it was worried the structure of the market was making costs and premiums unnecessarily high. | The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) made the referral because it was worried the structure of the market was making costs and premiums unnecessarily high. |
| It found that insurers of "at-fault" drivers had no control over the amount spent on repairs or replacement vehicles by "not-at-fault" drivers. | It found that insurers of "at-fault" drivers had no control over the amount spent on repairs or replacement vehicles by "not-at-fault" drivers. |
| The Commission has two years to report. | The Commission has two years to report. |
| The OFT provisionally decided in May that the market needed more investigation and has reached its final decision after a public consultation process. | The OFT provisionally decided in May that the market needed more investigation and has reached its final decision after a public consultation process. |
| "Competition appears not to be working effectively in the private motor insurance market," said OFT chief executive Clive Maxwell. | "Competition appears not to be working effectively in the private motor insurance market," said OFT chief executive Clive Maxwell. |
| "The insurers of at-fault drivers appear to have little control over the bills they must pay, and this may be leading to higher costs for them and ultimately higher premiums for motorists." | "The insurers of at-fault drivers appear to have little control over the bills they must pay, and this may be leading to higher costs for them and ultimately higher premiums for motorists." |
| The OFT was particularly concerned that replacement vehicles being provided could be unnecessarily expensive and they could be being provided for longer than necessary. | |
| It said that such practices were pushing up total premiums by about £225m a year. |