OVER HALF OF Irish drivers saw their insurance premiums increase in the last year, according to a new report.

Carzone’s 2026 Motoring report found that three quarters of Irish drivers reported a change in their insurance premiums with 54% reporting an increase and 22% reporting a decrease.

The report combines a survey of 1,000 drivers in Ireland with Carzone’s real-time search and marketplace data.

Carzone is an online platform and marketplace in which users can buy and sell cars. Users can also search for information regarding dealerships and receive an estimated valuation of their own vehicle.

The report found that over 80% of Irish motorists are driving either petrol or diesel cars while just 5% have gone fully electric.

Cost pressures were a “widespread” issue addressed throughout the report as only 7% of respondents cited no financial worries about running their car while 65% of drivers cited insurance as a key financial concern and 59% noted that fuel was their biggest worry.

The majority of drivers, 86%, bought their car second hand. Of those, the vehicles tended to be on average around five years old at the time of purchase.

The average monthly cost of running a car, according to Carzone, has risen by €12 in the last year to €224. Motorists in Leinster reported the highest monthly costs of of an average of €232. 

The average cost of motor insurance in Ireland rose by 9% to €623 in 2024, according to a report by the Central Bank last year.

Independent motoring expert with Carzone Conor Faughnan said that insurance premiums have been trending upwards for a number of years now and that this increase isn’t unprecedented.

However he noted that “these things are cyclical”, adding that from 2017 to 2022 there was an annual decrease in insurance premiums pricing, though prices during this time fell from a “high base”.

Despite the increases in insurance premiums, only 36% of drivers reported switching to a different insurance provider.

Faughnan told The Journal that there is a “persistent degree of customer inertia” in regards to shopping around because of how time consuming it can be.

While increases in insurance premiums were found to be more likely to be reported in Leinster and Munster than in other provinces, Faughnan commented that for many years there has been a pattern of higher premiums in Dublin and other urban areas due to small traffic collisions, “supermarket scratchings”, and a higher amount of claims made.