Just thought I'd add my 2p worth...
I've worked in the industry for the past 9 years and its fair to say we get a bad press generally. I've tried to dispel a few of the common misconceptions regarding motor insurance, but I can only speak for our company. Generally, the postcode element of a motor rating calculation represents a very small proportion of the overall pricing.
However, every case will be different, eg. the postcode/district element for a MINI One driven by a mature driver with full no-claims discount in an inner-city ungaraged postcode may represent a higher proportion of the premium than for a Cooper S garaged by a young woman living in a rural location. Ridiculous example I know!
The main big-cost rating factors of car insurance are:
(a) level of cover chosen
(b) age/claims/conviction experience of drivers
(c) car group
(d) district kept overnight
To go back to postcode districts - we've got roughly 1.2 million personal customers and probably the same of business drivers in postcodes throughout the land. Chances are we've got drivers everywhere.
IAA made the point earlier that low population areas may be disproportionately penalised for the odd claim - not so.
Where are the lowest postcode rated areas in the UK? Remote rural locations, the Shetland Islands for example. The reason why? (a) there's hardly anyone there and (b) the have very few claims (per head of population).
Conversely, the highest rated districts have always been Inner London and Glasgow - been so for years. Greatest population density, poorest claims experience - high accidents and crime levels are the reasons behind that.
DBK.
