THE past three months have seen the cost of car insurance U-turn in the North West.

New data reveals that prices dropped by more than £40 over the quarter on average, as the coronavirus pandemic forced drivers to stay home.

For Blackburn, the average price is £1,000, this is a £40 decrease in three months and £26 fall year-on-year.

Drivers in the North West can now expect to pay £760 for their car insurance, as prices fall by £52 in the past three months and by £23 year-on-year,.

On average this is the highest annual drop in 18 months, according to the latest car insurance price index by Confused.com.

This is good news for drivers in Blackburn, where car insurance is usually higher.

But, drivers in Lancaster will fare better from the biggest savings as prices have fallen by £52 since March and by £40 year-on-year.

The news of cheaper car insurance costs may come as a relief to many motorists.

But Louise O’Shea, CEO at Confused.com urges drivers to shop around, as research shows those renewing with their current insurer are not seeing the same savings, despite being encouraged to stay home.

In fact, a nationally representative survey of UK drivers revealed that those who did shop around and switch insurers were able to save £61 on the cost of the insurance, on average.

The past three months have seen a huge change in circumstances for many people, with millions spending more time at home.

Half of UK motorists have cut their annual mileage as they have been using their car less during lockdown, meaning there’s less traffic on UK roads.

This reduces the risk of accidents, and therefore minimises claim pay-outs for insurers.

Similarly, between March and June, 1.3 million people applied for a SORN while new car sales plummeted.