Recent research estimates that the average cost of an annual car insurance policy in the UK now stands at £843, with car insurance costs rising by 12.3% over the course of the last year on average. Although the news that premiums have risen again this year may initially be seen as bad news, compared to last year’s annual rise in insurance costs of 37.8%, the new figure is significantly down on the 2010 increase which possibly signals an end to spiralling cost of car insurance. While the average increase of car insurance has been calculated at 12.3%, the rise in cost varies dramatically according to postcodes, with the North of England being hit worst by increases with car insurance prices rises by almost a quarter compared to 2010. In Oldham motorists have been subject to an increase in the cost of cover totalling 27.9%, while Bradford drivers followed close behind with a rise of 26.5% in the cost of annual car insurance premiums, and Liverpool and Manchester also saw a significant increase in their car insurance rates of over 26% on average. However there does appear to be some evidence that car insurance prices are levelling out as figures for the last quarter showed that the cost of premiums actually fell by 1.6%, the first time a decrease in car insurance rates has been reported in three years. With the government making plans to investigate the rising cost of car insurance and outlining plans to tackle disproportionate rises, and the Association of British Insurers revealing they are doing all they can to beat the increases, there’s optimism that the tide may finally be turning and that annual increases of 37.8% on car insurance premiums will be a thing of the past.