THE AVERAGE COST of running a family car for a year has dropped compared to last year but some drivers are still facing “inordinately high” insurance costs, according to a new report by AA Ireland.

The AA’s annual survey of motoring costs found that running a family car for a year is €10,593.26, down by €98.11 compared to the previous year.

The report uses figures from the CSO’s Consumer Price Index which outlined that the average cost of motor insurance has dropped by 6.7% compared between June 2018 and June 2019.

The drop in insurance costs is not being felt evenly across all drivers however, with younger drivers, returning immigrants and those with a claims history among the groups that are being charged more.

The cost of insurance has been questioned more and more recently with insurance companies claiming that false or exaggerated claims are part of the reason insurance premiums are so high in Ireland.

Responding to the publication of the report today, the AA’s Conor Faughnan said that while the downward movement in insurance costs is welcome, more needs to be done.

“While this is a positive development, we’re still a long way away from truly fixing many of the issues in our insurance system which contributed to the price rises seen from 2015,” Faughnan said.

It’s true that some progress has been made in this space, but with each passing month it begins to feel more and more that government have moved their attention onto other matters and that motorists are simply being forced to get used to higher insurance prices.

The other major change in the cost of petrol, which is down compared to last year.

The report details that the average price of petrol at is currently at 143.9 cent per litre, down by about 3.7 cents compared to a year ago.