Insurance taskforce welcomed as fleet premiums increase by up to 50% (video)

Fleets are hoping for some relief from the increasing cost of insurance with premiums rising significantly..

Government figures suggest a 21% hike in premiums over the past two years.

The increase is proving a real issue for fleets, as the knock-on effects of the move to electric, increasing amounts of advanced technologies and soaring parts prices begin to bite.

Factors driving up the cost of insurance include inflation, rising car thefts and potholes, with figures suggesting these are hitting both internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric vehicles (EVs), although zero-emission models are suffering more.

Debating the issue in October’s Fleet News at 10 webinar, Dale Eynon, Defra's director of group fleet services, said: “We’ve found that our insurance costs have gone up by 50% since 2020, which is a huge rise, but that is probably in line with the rise we’ve seen in SMR (service, maintenance and repair) costs and other kind of fleet costs.”  

Data from Epyx, published earlier this year, showed that fleets have suffered from a marked increase in average parts prices in the past four years.  

Using a basket of common parts including front discs and pads, wiper blades, clutch, pollen filter, headlamp bulbs and spark plugs, the total cost has risen from £713 in 2020 to £963 in 2024 - a 35% hike in the past four years.