Car insurance costs across Northern Ireland and the wider UK surged in the last three months of 2009, with even the cheapest quotes going up by over 11 per cent. The car insurance analysts behind the latest AA British Insurance Premium Index say it's down to the growing frequency of personal injury claims and sharp rises in settlement costs, as well as increases in fraud.

According to AA Insurance's data, young drivers in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK have been worst hit by the growing expense of car insurance premiums, though costs are also on the up for parents aged between 40 and 49 because they put children as named drivers on their policies.

Simon Douglas from AA Insurance reveals that the average quoted premium for comprehensive car insurance had accelerated by 18.7 per cent by the end of 2009.

Despite a drop in the number of accidents on the nation's roads, the cost of accident damage has also been rising steadily, he notes.

While Douglas doesn't rule out a continuing increase in the cost of car insurance over the coming months, it may be contained by legislation changes allowing for the issue of electronic insurance certificates.