Underwriting is the process an insurer uses to assess the risk of insuring a person or asset, decide whether to offer cover, and set the premium and terms. It turns information about the applicant into a price and policy conditions.
Compulsory excess is the fixed amount an insurer requires a policyholder to pay towards any claim. It is set by the insurer based on risk factors such as the driver's age and the vehicle, and it cannot be reduced by the customer.
Voluntary excess is the amount a policyholder chooses to add on top of the compulsory excess when buying insurance. Agreeing to pay more towards any future claim usually lowers the premium, because the customer absorbs a larger share of each loss.
A protected no claims discount is an optional paid extra that lets a driver make a limited number of claims within a set period without losing the no claims years they have built up. It shields the discount, not the underlying premium.
A courtesy car is a temporary replacement vehicle provided while an insured car is being repaired after a claim. It is usually a small standard model supplied by the approved repairer, not a like-for-like match for the original car.
A write-off category is the salvage grade an insurer assigns to a damaged vehicle deemed uneconomical or unsafe to repair. UK categories A, B, S and N describe how badly the car is damaged and whether it may return to the road.
Fronting is a form of motor insurance fraud where a lower-risk person is falsely named as the main driver of a car, while the real main driver is listed as a named driver, to obtain a cheaper premium.
A named driver is a person listed on a motor insurance policy alongside the main policyholder, permitting them to drive the insured car. The named driver shares the cover but does not own or control the policy itself.
Comprehensive insurance is the highest standard level of motor cover. It pays for injury and damage caused to others and also for damage to the policyholder's own vehicle, including in accidents that were the policyholder's fault.
Third party insurance is the minimum legal level of motor cover in the UK. It pays for injury to other people and damage to their property caused by the policyholder, but never for damage to the policyholder's own vehicle.
IPT, or Insurance Premium Tax, is a UK tax charged on most general insurance premiums, including motor, home and pet cover. It is collected by the insurer and passed to HMRC, so the quoted price already includes it.
A black box policy is motor insurance that uses a fitted device or app to record how, when and where a car is driven. Premiums are then adjusted to reflect the driver's actual behaviour rather than statistical averages alone.
A no claims discount is a reduction on a motor insurance premium earned for each consecutive year a driver holds a policy without making a fault claim. The discount grows with each claim-free year and can cut the premium substantially over time.
An insurance premium is the price a policyholder pays an insurer in exchange for cover, charged either as a single annual sum or in monthly instalments. It reflects the insurer's assessment of risk plus Insurance Premium Tax and any arrangement fees.
An excess is the fixed sum a policyholder pays towards a claim before the insurer covers the rest. On a settled claim of 2,000 GBP with a 350 GBP excess, the insurer pays 1,650 GBP and the customer funds the excess.
UK home insurance statistics for 2026: average premiums by cover type, total claims paid, weather and flood claim costs, subsidence payouts and multi-year premium trends, every figure sourced from ABI and FCA primary data.
UK car insurance statistics for 2026 compiled from ABI, MIB, DfT, HMRC and FCA primary sources: average premiums, total claims paid, uninsured driving figures, Insurance Premium Tax and regional data, every number cited inline with source and date.
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