Car Insurance Cost Guide

In this car insurance cost guide, we outline the key factors that influence the price of motor insurance, and explore whether you’re paying a fair amount for your premium.

Car insurance premiums in Ireland are highly personalised and are based on a number of factors.

Understanding your car insurance premium means looking past the price you are quoted and exploring the ‘risk based pricing’ model used by Irish car insurers.

This explains the logic of how insurers arrive at your premium, and you can use this information to see where savings may be possible.

Average Car Insurance Premium

In 2025, the Central Bank of Ireland suggested a national average premium of €623 for car insurance.

It is important to remember, however, that this average includes all age groups of drivers, meaning it may be skewed by the higher prices of insurance for young drivers.

Car insurance premiums are highly individualised, both in terms of driver and vehicle factors, and also in terms of the levels of protection offered by various insurance policies and providers.

Premiums vary widely depending on risk profile and cover level.

Factors That Contribute to Car Insurance Costs

The factors that affect the cost of insurance include driver risk factors, vehicle factors, usage and environmental factors, as well as the level of cover offered by the policy. This also includes any optional extras that you opt to include.

Car insurers look at your ‘risk profile’ i.e. the likelihood that you will make a claim and this ‘risk profile’ is based on a range of historical and real time data.

Some factors that feed into the quote that you will get include:

  • Your age: Younger drivers (under 25 or even 30) will pay a higher premium as, statistically, they have a higher rate of accidents. Older drivers (over 70) will also see a slight increase in their quote for car insurance.

  • Driving experience: Insurers will consider your driving experience, with ‘L’ and ‘N’ drivers facing higher premiums, and the length of time you have held your full Irish/ UK/ EU licence.

  • Claims history/ no claims bonus: If you have a claims free driving record of 5+ years, this will be the largest discount you can get in terms of your premium.

  • Penalty points: Having over 3 penalty points usually triggers a price hike. New legislation requires you to provide your insurer with your driver number, which provides them with your driving information.

  • Occupation: Your occupation affects your car insurance price as some occupations are seen as ‘riskier’ or involve stress of higher mileage than others.

  • Engine size: Your choice of car in terms of engine size, make and model will affect the cost of insurance. Premium or high performance vehicles cost more to insure due to a higher risk of speed-related accidents.

  • Value: The value of your car affects its replacement cost, with higher value and luxury cars are more expensive to insure. Conversely, older or very cheap cars can also lead to higher premiums if they lack modern safety features.

  • Safety features: Safety features like advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) or autonomous emergency braking will lower your premium due to the decreased likelihood of accidents – in particular rear end collisions.

  • Repair costs: Cars like SUVs, crossovers, and luxury car brands cost more to insure as repairs are more expensive. Likewise, electric vehicles that require more specialised and technical repairs will have higher premiums.

  • Modifications: Any modification that differs from the factory standard for your vehicle must also be declared when you insure your car, and this may increase the quote you receive.

  • Address and overnight parking: Your address and where you park your car overnight feed into your car insurance premium. Areas of higher traffic density and higher crime cost more, as does overnight parking on public streets.

  • Mileage: It stands to reason that the longer you are on the road, the more chance that you will have an accident. If you do fewer than 10,000 km per year, you may be able to avail of a low mileage discount. Younger drivers’ insurance may also be limited to a certain mileage.

  • Class of use: ‘Standard’ car insurance covers ‘social, domestic, and pleasure’ driving. If you use your car for your daily commute to and from work, and especially if you use the car in the course of your work, this will increase your premium.

Car Insurance Market Pricing Comparison (2026)

  • Quotes obtained January 2026
  • Same assumptions across insurers
  • No optional extras selected unless stated
  • All prices are annual prices.
Insurer Driver 1*  Driver 2*  Driver 3*
Allianz Third party, fire, and theft
€489.74, €300 excess, breakdown assistance, stepback bonus protection.Comprehensive
€519.74, €300 excess, breakdown assistance, windscreen cover, stepback bonus protection.		 Third party, fire, and theft
€637.21, €300 excess, stepback bonus protection.Comprehensive
€678.06, €300 excess, breakdown assistance, windscreen cover, stepback bonus protection.		 Third party, fire, and theft
€1482.75, €300 excess, stepback bonus protection.Comprehensive
€1553.16, excess €300, breakdown assistance, windscreen cover, stepback bonus protection.
Zurich Third party, fire, and theft
€460.99, €250 excess, no extras.Comprehensive
€611.70, €250 excess, breakdown assistance, windscreen cover, courtesy car, stepback bonus protection.		 Comprehensive
€916.78, €260 excess, breakdown assistance, windscreen cover, courtesy car, stepback bonus protection.		 Third party, fire, and theft
€900.33, €250 excess, no extrasComprehensive
€1179.82, €250 excess, breakdown assistance, windscreen cover, courtesy car, stepback bonus protection.
AXA Third party, fire, and theft
€585.12, €300 excess, breakdown assistance, stepback bonus protection.Comprehensive
€675.09, €300 excess, breakdown assistance, windscreen cover, courtesy car, stepback bonus protection.		 Third party, fire, and theft
€704,92, €300 excess, breakdown assistance, stepback bonus protection.Comprehensive
€908.81, €300 excess, breakdown assistance, windscreen cover, courtesy car, stepback bonus protection.		 Third party, fire, and theft
€798.76, €300, breakdown assistance, stepback bonus protectionComprehensive
€873.50, €300 excess, breakdown assistance, windscreen cover, courtesy car, stepback bonus protection.
KennCo Third party, fire, and theft
€615.46, €250 excess, breakdown assistance, stepback bonus protection.Comprehensive
€701.21, €250 excess, breakdown assistance, windscreen cover, courtesy car, stepback bonus protection.		 Comprehensive
€863.19, €250 excess, breakdown assistance, windscreen cover, courtesy car, stepback bonus protection		 Third party, fire, and theft
€898.58, €500 excess, breakdown assistance, courtesy car, stepback bonus protection.Comprehensive
€898.58, €500 excess, breakdown assistance, windscreen cover, courtesy car, stepback no claims bonus protection.
Aviva Third party, fire, and theft
€805.45, excess €300, breakdown assistance, courtesy car, stepback bonus protection.Comprehensive
€1006.82, €300 excess, breakdown assistance, windscreen cover, courtesy car, stepback bonus protection.

*Driver 1 – Age 45, full Irish licence for 9yrs+, no penalty points, driving 1.2L petrol car worth €12,000.
*Driver 2 – Age 45, full Irish licence for 9yrs+, no penalty points, driving 1.6L petrol hybrid car worth €30,000.
*Driver 3 – Age 22, full Irish licence for 4yrs, no penalty points, driving 1.2L petrol car worth €12,000.

How To Get The Best Value Car Insurance

In Ireland, car insurance can be double the EU average, so it’s worth ‘tweaking’ a bit to see if you can get more affordable cover.

While many pricing factors are fixed (such as age or location), some variables can be adjusted to influence your premium.

Here are some ways to get a better quote:

Although the practice of ‘price walking’ was banned in Ireland in 2022, meaning that longer standing customers could not be charged more than new customers for the same cover, it is still worth reviewing your cover and shopping around by getting multiple quotes at renewal time.

Insurers offer discounts, such as online discounts, multi-policy discounts, and lower mileage discounts, so check which insurers offer discounts that may suit your circumstances.

This may require a little caution as choosing a higher voluntary excess may shave a few euros off your premium for car insurance, but you will have to pay out the excess amount in the event of a claim.

If you can manage this in your budget, it will typically save you 10-15% a year rather than paying a monthly payment plan.

Although it is almost always worth choosing comprehensive cover, you may not need all of the additional benefits so don’t pay extra for benefits that are ‘nice to have’ but not essential.

This is the simplest and most effective way to pay less for car insurance at any age. If you build up your no claims bonus and avoid penalty points etc., you will achieve a significant discount on your car insurance.

With repair costs in Ireland rising dramatically, it may be worth avoiding a smaller claim and paying for the damage yourself rather than losing that ‘all important’ no claims bonus.

Choosing a smaller car with a less powerful engine, and no modifications, will almost always save you money on your car insurance, especially for younger drivers. Likewise, a less ‘premium’ brand that is cheaper to repair will likely cost less to insure.

If you are a newly qualified driver, any time you have as a named driver may be taken into account in calculating your premium, so choose an insurer that is willing to consider your driving experience.

As a younger driver, adding an experienced named driver to your policy may bring down your premium a little also. Be careful to avoid ‘fronting’ though, i.e. putting the main driver as a named driver on the policy to avoid paying a higher premium as this is a fraudulent practice.

Tip

As of January 2026, the Insurance Compensation Fund (ICF) levy has halved from 2% to 1%, so ensure any quote that you receive takes this into account. The levy is included in your premium and automatically applied by insurers.

Conclusion

Although car insurance is a significant expense, and increased repair costs as well as car tech advances may see premiums rise, being both informed and proactive remains the best way to get a competitive quote.

At Compare Insurance, we are committed to bringing you all the information you need to make an informed choice about insurance. We offer independent advice and guides, as well as our blog and articles packed with tips on how to save on your car insurance.

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