Database Of Areas For Car Insurance Risks

thor

Is there a general database of postcodes that car insurance companies use to decide which areas are the riskiest or do they all have their own individual pieces of information they use instead?
My insurance has been going up every year quite sharply even though I have never made a claim so I decided to get some quotes using neighbouring area postcodes( I check everywhere at renewal times anyway). A postcode a mile away gave me a quote that was 2 1/2 less than one from the same company and with the same details apart from the postcode. So it is obvious my area has a bad reputation but I think if I had done this same test in previous years the ratio would have been less the further back in time I went.
I know that a few months ago the was a map report detailing the highest risk car insurance towns and cities(I think Bradford came top) but I want to see f there is something which can be broken down into smaller areas such as postcodes. I have a feeling that it might just be my road that has been blacklisted so i want to know which b*gger is messing it up for the rest of us.

cogito

Insurers are free to rate individual areas according to their own statistics. You can even get the bizarre situation where two adjacent properties can attract different premiums simply because they have different postcodes. The problem is that a line has to be drawn somewhere. All you can do is shop around.

dogbot

cogito is correct. To expand a little, most use a mix of crime statistics and data, modelling from actuarial companies, Mosaic profiles and their own claims experience.

olly300

thor wrote: »

A postcode a mile away gave me a quote that was 2 1/2 less than one from the same company and with the same details apart from the postcode. So it is obvious my area has a bad reputation but I think if I had done this same test in previous years the ratio would have been less the further back in time I went.

Your area doesn't have a "bad reputation" it's simply not a good insurance risk with the insurers you have tried as the postcode 2.5 miles away.

There can be a number of reasons why this is and is not simply due to an area being "bad" or "poorer".

I've pointed out on this board I moved from an area in London with large flats and houses, where the residents tended to have newer and more expensive cars parked in garages and on drives to a inner city area of terraced houses and older cars parked on the road and my insurance went down. From an insurers point of view I was less likely to have an accident with a vehicle that cost a lot to repair.

movilogo

Long time back I saw one such list in parkers.co.uk forum. Not sure if it is still there. Just have a look.

Usually NCD and postcode are most influencing factor in premium calculation!

Matty23

I'm not sure if this is any good as i dont think you can do full postcode so therefore cant pinpoint your street, yet my area is a high risk ( knew that already)...worth a look on a site called visitcars co.uk ( cant send link as not allowed yet)

thor

olly300 wrote: »

Your area doesn't have a "bad reputation" it's simply not a good insurance risk with the insurers you have tried as the postcode 2.5 miles away.

There can be a number of reasons why this is and is not simply due to an area being "bad" or "poorer".

Actually the postcode I tried was only a mile away but the distance does not really matter as it is the postcode that really knocks up my premium these days. I think that if a postcode is not a good risk compared with another and the premium is 2.5 times greater than surely it must be seen as having a bad reputation. I called Sainsbury Car Insurance as they were unable to quote me and asked what the problem was. They confirmed that it was indeed the postcode and when asked for the reason why, they said there has been a high number of claims from the postcode and as a result they would not offer insurance for anyone living there.
It does not matter how safe you are, you will be blighted or blessed by the postcode area you live in.
I don't think it is fair but have no choice but to accept. I just wish insurance companies would release the statistics they use to come up with these risk assessments.

spark_deals

Matty23 wrote: »

I'm not sure if this is any good as i dont think you can do full postcode so therefore cant pinpoint your street, yet my area is a high risk ( knew that already)...worth a look on a site called visitcars co.uk ( cant send link as not allowed yet)

The link is here