UK motor insurance switching falls to lowest since 2023

Motor insurance switching in the UK fell to its lowest level since 2023 in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Its latest market analysis also showed the insured value of vehicles continued to decline.

Only 21% of consumers shopping for motor insurance changed provider in the final quarter of 2025, the lowest level recorded since the first quarter of 2023, according to the company's Insurance Demand Meter UK.

The data points to a calmer retail market after a period of heavy shopping activity, with consumers less likely to move insurer as premiums eased through 2025. Across the year, around 17,000 fewer consumers a day shopped for motor insurance than in 2024, although activity picked up slightly in the last quarter, with roughly 1,000 more daily shoppers than in the same period a year earlier.

The report also highlighted changes in the insured vehicle fleet. The average value of a UK vehicle fell by almost £1,000 between the second half of 2023 and the second half of 2025, to about £10,000. Over the same period, average vehicle age rose by about five months, from 10 years to around 10 years and five months.

That suggests motorists are holding on to cars for longer as household budgets remain under strain. For insurers, an older vehicle parc can mean a less uniform mix of safety and driver-assistance systems, as well as differing maintenance histories and repair needs.

Chinese brands

The analysis also pointed to a gradual but steady rise in Chinese car brands within personal lines insurance. These marques accounted for 1.2% of policies by the end of 2025, up from 0.6% in 2022, with market share rising quarter by quarter through the year.

The shift reflects the broader arrival of new electric vehicle entrants in the UK market, particularly from China, as insurers assess models with relatively limited historical claims and repair records. That can make pricing more difficult, especially alongside changing repair costs and the spread of different in-car technologies.

The combination of ageing vehicles and a growing presence of newer Chinese models is adding pressure to underwriting and pricing decisions, the analysis found. Older cars may have lower market values, but they can still create uncertainty if data on condition, equipment and maintenance is incomplete. Newer imported models present a different challenge, with less established data on claims frequency, repair complexity and parts costs.

Pricing pressure

The analysis linked the moderation in shopping and switching during 2025 to falling motor insurance premiums and wider inflation trends. But it also warned that rising repair bills, claims inflation and broader inflationary pressures tied to geopolitical uncertainty could reverse that pattern and push premiums higher again.

Any renewed increase in premiums would likely lead to more consumers comparing policies and considering a switch. That would mark a return to the higher levels of shopping activity seen when motor insurance prices were rising more sharply.

For insurers, the challenge is becoming more granular. Understanding a car's exact specification, safety features, value and condition has become more important as the make-up of the UK car parc changes. Advanced driver-assistance systems, known as ADAS, can affect both risk and repair costs, yet older cars may include different generations of the technology or none at all.

A brief context note accompanied the findings from the company's insurance product team.

"Chinese vehicle manufacturers continue to expand their footprint across the U.K. market. For the insurance industry, this can create challenges where limited historical claims and repair data is available. In response, we're seeing increasing demand for vehicle-level insights at the point of quote and claim, including intelligence about ADAS features that can help insurers assess risk, repairability and potential claims costs.

"At the same time, the market is insuring older cars with depreciating values. Knowing the status, maintenance history and real-time value of these vehicles is central to fair policy pricing and customer transparency throughout the insurance claims process.

"As pricing pressures continue to mount, it will become even more critical for motor insurance providers to deploy granular data on the vehicles they are insuring to help ensure the product and price are right for the individual risk and that customers get the best outcome in a claim," said Tom Lawrie-Fussey, Associate Vice President of Insurance Product Management, U.K. and Ireland, LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

The Insurance Demand Meter UK draws on billions of consumer shopping transactions and vehicle records flowing through LexisNexis systems, offering a view of how motorists compare policies and how insurers respond to changes in pricing and risk.

The latest findings suggest that while the immediate rush to switch cover has eased, the underlying pressures in the motor market have not disappeared. The average insured vehicle is older and worth less, while newer Chinese brands make up a growing share of the market, leaving insurers to price a more varied and less predictable mix of risks.