Market-watchers have been looking for an upturn in car insurance for several years now. Finally there is evidence, from Direct Line and from various surveys in the sector, that this inflection point may have been reached.
The problem has been that claims inflation, the amount that motorists put in for, has been rising faster than the rate at which insurers can lift premiums. Most assume that inflation is caused by fraudulent neck whiplash injury claims (that problem has not gone away and, indeed, there are signs that it is returning again), but cars are getting more expensive and complicated, garage costs are rising and the lower pound will push up the prices of imported components.
In the first nine months of the year, Direct Line,