Is it fair to compare car insurance costs in other countries?
Caeva O'Callaghan | November 17th, 2015
Is it fair to compare car insurance costs in other countries? Yes and no.
On the one hand, when you compare car insurance costs across the world, it’s tempting to reach the conclusion that car insurance in Ireland is very expensive. On the other hand, every country has its own set of insurance rules. For example, car insurance rates are low in some European countries because so long as you have the right papers and insurance in place, you only have to insure the car alone.
In Ireland we complain because insurance premium hikes are in double digits. Meanwhile, in Ontario consumers complained bitterly when car insurance rates increased an average of 0.60% in the second quarter of 2015.
The lucky residents of the state of Florida are almost unique in the world – their auto insurance premiums for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) are sliding downward. According to recent data, PIP premiums in Florida fell by over 13% following the implementation of a state law which was designed to lower premiums. Since PIP accounts for about a quarter of auto insurance costs overall, drivers in Florida have seen their premiums drop 3-4% since 2012 – compared to rises of over 30% in Ireland in the same period.