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| Insurance: Plans for cap on courtesy car costs | Insurance: Plans for cap on courtesy car costs |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The cost of courtesy cars should be capped to push down car insurance premiums, the competition regulator proposes. | The cost of courtesy cars should be capped to push down car insurance premiums, the competition regulator proposes. |
| Replacement vehicles cost consumers as much as £180m a year through higher premiums, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said. | Replacement vehicles cost consumers as much as £180m a year through higher premiums, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said. |
| There will also be a ban on website deals which stop insurers offering lower product prices elsewhere. | There will also be a ban on website deals which stop insurers offering lower product prices elsewhere. |
| No-claims bonus information will also have to be clearer, the regulator said. | No-claims bonus information will also have to be clearer, the regulator said. |
| Courtesy car costs for an insurer can be significantly higher if the replacement car is provided by an outside company, rather than by the insurer itself, the CMA said. | |
| Ultimately, these costs are passed onto the consumer through higher premiums, and so should be capped at source, it added. | |
| "There are over 25 million privately registered cars in the UK and we think these changes will benefit motorists who are currently paying higher premiums as a result of the problems we've found," said Alasdair Smith, chair of the CMA private motor insurance investigation group. | |
| Deals between price comparison websites and insurers called "price parity" agreements should also be banned, the regulator proposed. | |
| The deals stop insurers offering their products more cheaply elsewhere, and again ultimately push up the price of insurance, CMA found. | |
| "We believe they [price comparison websites] are great in helping motorists look for the best deal, and this in turn has driven insurers to compete more intensely, but we want to see an end to clauses which restrict an insurer's ability to price its products differently, whether on different price comparison sites or on other channels," Mr Smith said. |