Car insurance likely to increase

There is likely to be another hike in motor insurance premiums this year, by as much as 20%.

Last year, the cost of car insurance went up by 12%, according to the Central Statistics Office.

Since 2010, motorists have been paying a levy on motor, home and commercial insurance, to pay off the collapse of Quinn Insurance.

Personal Finance Editor at the Irish Independent, Charlie Weston, broke the story this morning, and he reports that more claims are the main reason for the hike.

"It's due mainly to more accidents on the roads - there's a greater volume of traffic on the roads, so there are more collisions. There was a greater number of fatalities last year, that means it's expensive," he said.

"Insurers are losing money.

"They had underpriced insurance for a while - we saw two big players in the market, RSA and FBD, issuing profit warnings and increasing their insurance rates.

"[Now] the expectation is that across the market, we'll have more bad news for motorists."