Finding car insurance can be a tricky business.
For many of us, it’s a stress we’d rather not think about, given that it’s likely to be time-consuming and expensive. But where is it most expensive of all?
At NewportOnline, we used the price comparison website CompareTheMarket.com to find out how much where you live can change how much your insurance costs. Where you live can also be a factor in how likely you are to get a parking ticket - these are the streets in Newport where you’re most likely to get a parking fine.
Insurance providers decide premiums according to the risk for them. Through our search for different Newport post codes, we found that the same person, with the same car and job could be paying vastly different sums in different areas of Newport.
The test
Trying to determine how much changing where you live can affect your insurance, we entered exactly the same information into the price comparison site, changing only the location each time.
"Bethan Jones", a 30-year-old, single, Ford Fiesta driving, administration assistant who owns their own house can expect to pay more than £500 more for living just two miles away.
Every road checked was in a residential area away from the main road.
"Bethan" opted to have a £500 excess and looked for fully comprehensive insurance.
Which area of Newport was the most expensive for car insurance?
Pillgwenlly and Somerton were the two most expensive areas of those we tested in Newport, with an annual premium costing more than £400.
Lliswerry was the cheapest area we tested, with an annual premium of £309.
This tables shows the price in areas of Newport we tested from lowest to highest:
| Place name | Lowest amount | Insurer |
| Lliswerry | £309 | Churchill |
| Caerleon | £316 | QuoteMeHappy.com |
| Bassaleg | £329 | QuoteMeHappy.com |
| St. Julians | £336 | Churchill |
| Duffryn | £343 | Churchill |
| Maindee | £346 | Churchill |
| Gaer | £359 | Churchill |
| Bettws | £393 | Churchill |
| Somerton | £409 | Churchill |
| Pillgwenlly | £450 | Churchill |
What about other areas in Gwent?
Elsewhere in Gwent, Abergavenny was the cheapest area we tested, with an annual premium of £280. Chepstow came in second with an annual premium of £296.
At the other end of the scale, Cwmbran was the most expensive area, with an annual premium of £334.
Below is the table of the places we tested:
| Place name | Lowest amount | Insurer |
| Abergavenny | £280 | QuoteMeHappy.com |
| Chepstow | £296 | QuoteMeHappy.com |
| Abertillery | £309 | Churchill |
| Ebbw Vale | £318 | Churchill |
| Pontypool | £330 | Churchill |
| Blackwood | £332 | QuoteMeHappy.com |
| Cwmbran | £334 | Churchill |
All the figures could vary and are estimates for the areas listed.
In April, data revealed that car insurance had lowered significantly when compared with last year. The average cost of fully comprehensive car insurance in the UK was £417.06 in the first quarter of this year – down £73.32 from Q4 of 2020.
The cost of car insurance in Wales was down 14% overall, with an average premium costing £339.75.
.jpg?w=600)
