Car insurance contracts are not immune to inflation but it is possible to pay less thanks to this option.
This is not a surprise in the current context, but car insurance will not escape a further increase in prices in 2024. This increase could reach 5% according to some specialists. Depending on the nature of your contract, third party or all risks, this should increase your contribution by 30 to 50 euros on average next year. Several factors explain this increase in prices: the cost of raw materials and energy, the increase in the price of spare parts and the increase in labor costs due to new technologies embedded in vehicles.
According to Lynx.fr, the reference site for insurance comparators, the cost of automobile repairs has increased by 8.4% between 2022 and 2023. The upcoming increase in automobile insurance prices – the figures for which will be made official in December – therefore constitutes a second blow for motorists who are already not spared when they have to go through the garage box. Faced with all these additional expenses, there is a solution to reduce the cost of your car insurance. Too few users know it, but all companies have been offering per-kilometer insurance for several years, a concept that comes straight from across the Atlantic.
Several hundred euros in savings at stake
What is the difference between traditional insurance and per kilometer insurance? Rather than contributing annually for an unlimited number of kilometers, the policyholder who opts for per-kilometer insurance will pay for the number of kilometers he actually travels.. So, provided you do not exceed a certain number of kilometers per year, the less you drive and the less you pay. There are two options when you subscribe to this type of contract: PAYD (“pay as you drive” which can be translated as “pay for what you drive”) and the mileage package. In the case of PAYD, the number of kilometers traveled is measured using a connected box installed in your car. Each month, a statement is sent to the insurer who adjusts your bill by the kilometer.
In the case of the mileage package, the insured undertakes not to exceed a previously fixed ceiling. This time, there is no need to have a meter installed but the insurance company will ask you at the end of the year to have your meter checked at an approved garage. If the authorized number of kilometers is significantly exceeded, the contribution will be increased. Per kilometer insurance is particularly intended for small drivers, those who most often do not use their vehicle daily or on short journeys. Depending on different criteria (experience, bonus or penalty, car model, etc.), the price per kilometer varies between 1 and 4 euro cents.
Elderly people, owners of a secondary vehicle but also young drivers – for whom the insurance premium is often higher due to their greater propensity to cause accidents – are the main beneficiaries of per-kilometer insurance. . According to a study conducted by Ipsos in 2017, this formula would reduce the amount of your car insurance contract by around 40%, representing a possible saving of several hundred euros each year. Enough to largely cushion the next increase in contributions.