It’s always useful to know how often car insurance policyholders shop around on comparison sites, or try different brokers etc before renewal dates. Luckily LexisNexis UK collates some demand data twice a year;
New analysis of the motor insurance market published in this week’s LexisNexis® Insurance Demand Meter U.K. underlines the pressure on insurance providers to differentiate through pricing, service and renewal strategies. Among the report’s highlights, LexisNexis Risk Solutions found the average value of a car insured in the U.K. dropped to around £10,500 in H1 2025, and the average vehicle age edged closer to 11 years old, as cost-of-living pressures and ongoing economic uncertainty kept drivers holding on to their cars for longer.
The shift in the car parc seemingly occurred as motor insurance pricing eased, and shopping and switching activity declined from record levels in 2024. Notably, shopping activity fell by 9% from Q1 2025 to Q2 2025.
Key Findings from H1 2025:
• Shopping cools: Around 20,000 fewer consumers per day searched for motor insurance compared with H1 2024.
• Car parc value dips: The average U.K. vehicle value fell by nearly £500 between H2 2023 and H1 2025 as the average vehicle age approached 11 years.
• Customer wins and losses gap closes: Smaller providers gain momentum, evening out the competitive landscape.
• Early cancellations rise: Cancellations within three months of the policy start date were 29% higher for insurance providers outside the Top 10 than for the major providers in H1 2025.
The LexisNexis® Insurance Demand Meter U.K. offers a unique view of consumer motor insurance shopping trends, insurer performance and competitive dynamics shaping the U.K. motor insurance market. In H1 2025, just 22% of those shopping around for a motor insurance deal found a product attractive enough to switch, as rates across the market softened and stabilised. This is down from 25% in H1 2024.
The decline in shopping and switching may only be temporary though, as the rising cost of repairs and associated increase in claims costs could lead to another trend reversal for shopping and switching.
In respect of policy wins and losses, from Q3 2023 to Q3 2024, the Top 10 insurance providers consistently won more policies than they lost to the rest of the market. But in H1 2025, the rest of the market saw a 30% increase in net customer gains from their bigger rivals compared to the same period in 2024. As a consequence, customer wins between the Top 10 and the rest of the market became almost evenly matched.
Analysing motor policy cancellations from some of the Top 10 motor insurance providers, the LexisNexis® Insurance Demand Meter U.K. shows that in H1 2025, policies were less likely to be cancelled within the first three months, indicating stronger risk selection and more consistent customers. However, insurance provider-led cancellations in the Top 10 during the first 15 days of policy inception jumped over 23% in H1 2025, suggesting faster intervention and better early checks than the rest of the market.
While cars on the road are getting older overall, brand-new vehicles (less than one year old) now make up a slightly larger share of insured vehicles—up from 2.6% in late 2023 to 3.1% in H1 2025.
Tom Lawrie-Fussey, associate vice president of product management, U.K. and Ireland, LexisNexis Risk Solutions:
“Consumer shopping and switching activity in motor insurance has settled below its 2024 peak, as premiums continue to decline and stabilise. Essentially, the motivation to move has decreased for many consumers, although many are still checking what else is on offer, as they are encouraged to do as part of the renewal process. This increased market stability has led to a change in dynamic for policy wins with the rest of the market catching up with the Top 10 insurance providers, after a long period of losses to their bigger rivals. There are some early signs, however, that this situation could change once again in 2026, as motor claims costs remain high[iv].
“Cancellation patterns show larger insurance providers cancelling fewer policies overall but acting faster to void cover when fraud is suspected. This aligns with the latest motor insurance fraud data from the ABI[v], which reasserts from application through to claims, fraud detection and prevention rates are increasing. The ABI also reported the insurance market detected 51,700 motor scams in 2024, up 5% on 2023, and prevented an estimated 684,800 fraudulent insurance applications, a 7.4% increase on the year prior. We agree that a combination of better risk selection and quicker intervention is helping these savvy insurance providers stabilise portfolios.
“In today’s tough motor market, insurance providers that harness data intelligently to refine pricing, sharpen risk selection and detect fraud will be best placed to thrive.”
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