Capital's car owners 'paying £500 per year extra for insurance'

London car owners pay £500 more per year in insurance than outside of the capital, it was claimed today.

New research shows that Londoners pay an average of £4.33 per hour of car use, compared to £2.21 elsewhere in the UK.

The total average cost for Londoners is £1,170 per year — 75 per cent higher than the rest of the UK. Car sharing service Zipcar, who commissioned the research by Censuswide, claim that in two and a half years, a London car owner will spend more on insurance than the value of the actual car after depreciation. London's crime rates are believed to be chiefly to blame for the costs.

Mark Walker, general manager of Zipcar UK, said: “This hidden car insurance levy is astounding.”