Northern Ireland car insurance stalls as UK prices fall elsewhere

Last Updated: 22 April 2026
Read time: 4 min

Expert: Greg Wilson
Founder, CEO & Insurance Expert

Author: Stephen Gamble
Insurance PR Writer

Fact-checked by: QuoteZone Editorial Team

Written in line with our Editorial Guidelines

Car insurance prices in Northern Ireland have flatlined this quarter, while drivers in many other UK regions are starting to see real savings.

New figures from Quotezone.co.uk show the average premium in Northern Ireland dropped by just £2 over the last three months — a fall of under 1%, the smallest of any UK region. All figures in this report are drawn from Quotezone’s Q1 2026 pricing data covering UK car insurance quotes.

Drivers elsewhere have had a better time of it. Premiums in the West Midlands fell by almost £50, and London motorists saw reductions of over £30.

At £624.60, Northern Ireland now has the third-highest average premium in the UK, sitting around 8% above the national average. It is a notable shift from 2024, when the region was one of the more affordable places to insure a car.

Younger motorists continue to bear the brunt. Drivers aged 17 to 24 in Northern Ireland are paying an average of £1,386 — down more than £80 on the previous quarter, but still roughly 26% higher than the UK average for the same age group. Many shop around on dedicated young driver car insurance options to keep costs down. The regional cost gap for young drivers is not new: our earlier analysis found young drivers face some of the UK’s most expensive regional premiums.

Teenagers pay the most. In Belfast, 18-year-olds face average premiums of more than £3,150 — the highest in the UK and nearly £600 above what drivers the same age pay in London.

Costs drop sharply with even a little experience behind the wheel. By age 19, the average premium in Belfast falls by over £700, highlighting how insurers adjust pricing as risk decreases.

The data also shows striking disparities between council areas. A 20-year-old in Causeway Coast and Glens pays around £936 a year, while a driver the same age in Belfast pays an average of £2,217 — a difference of 137%.

The higher premiums for young drivers are largely tied to risk. Limited experience and a greater likelihood of being involved in accidents make younger motorists more expensive to insure. Drivers aged 17 to 23 account for nearly a quarter (24%) of all fatal or serious collisions in Northern Ireland, despite making up just 8% of licence holders. In 2024, incidents involving young drivers led to 164 casualties (Department for Infrastructure NI, 2024).*

Northern Ireland is about to become the first part of the UK to introduce Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL), with the scheme launching in October 2026. Under the new rules, learners must complete a six-month minimum learning period before taking their driving test. Newly qualified drivers will also face restrictions on night-time driving and on the number of young passengers they can carry.

The goal is straightforward: more time for new drivers to build experience, potentially leading to fewer collisions and fewer claims. If it works, lower premiums could follow.

Greg Wilson, car insurance expert and founder of Quotezone, said: “It is encouraging to see premiums falling across most of the UK, but Northern Ireland is lagging behind. A £2 drop over three months will feel like nothing to drivers already juggling fuel costs and rising household bills.”

“Northern Ireland has shifted from one of the more affordable regions in 2024 to the third most expensive this quarter. That reflects higher claim costs and ongoing road safety challenges, and young drivers are bearing the sharpest end of it — some Belfast teenagers are paying over £3,150, more than drivers their age anywhere else in the UK.”

“Graduated Driver Licensing is a real chance to improve road safety, and over time that should feed through into lower premiums for new drivers. Until then, NI drivers looking to cut costs can compare quotes widely, add an experienced named driver to the policy, choose a lower-powered car, look at telematics options, and avoid modifications that push premiums up.”

Drivers in Northern Ireland looking for a competitive price can compare NI car insurance quotes on Quotezone.

For the full UK regional breakdown with interactive tables and historical trends, see the CompareNI Car Insurance Index.

References
*Department for Infrastructure NI, Graduated driver licensing to be introduced 2026, infrastructure-ni.gov.uk