Belfast Drivers Pay £892 for Car Insurance, £309 More Than Causeway Coast, Quotezone Shows

• Belfast drivers pay an average of £892 a year for car insurance, £309 more than the £583 paid in Causeway Coast and Glens, says the Quotezone Car Insurance Price Index for the third quarter of 2026.
• The UK average fell about £32, or 5 percent, in three months to £587, but Northern Ireland rose 1 percent to £669 and is now the second most expensive region after London at £772.
• An 18-year-old in Belfast pays £2,752, which is £1,601 more than the £1,150 average for all drivers aged 17 to 24.

Car insurance got cheaper for most of the UK this autumn. In Northern Ireland it did not. The Quotezone Car Insurance Price Index for the third quarter of 2026, updated in October 2026, puts the UK average at £587, down about £32 or 5 percent on the £619 recorded in the second quarter. Northern Ireland moved the other way, edging up 1 percent from £660 to £669.

Inside Northern Ireland, the bill depends heavily on which council area you live in. Quotezone’s district breakdown has Belfast City Council at £892 a year and Causeway Coast and Glens at £583. That is a gap of £309 between two parts of the same country, and it is wider than the £301 gap between London and the South West of England.

A Postcode Gap Wider Than London Against the South West

Quotezone builds the index from a random sample of more than 100,000 UK policies quoted between March 2025 and September 2026, split by region, age and month. The figures are quoted premiums from its comparison service, so they show what drivers were being offered rather than the exact amount every driver paid at renewal. They are still one of the few published sources that break Northern Ireland down by council area.

Here is how the 11 districts rank for the third quarter of 2026, from dearest to cheapest, using Quotezone’s figures rounded to the nearest pound:

• Belfast City Council: £892
• Derry City and Strabane: £722
• Mid Ulster: £686
• Newry, Mourne and Down: £679
• Lisburn and Castlereagh: £666
• Antrim and Newtownabbey: £661
• Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon: £655
• Fermanagh and Omagh: £626
• Mid and East Antrim: £599
• Ards and North Down: £594
• Causeway Coast and Glens: £583

Belfast sits £224 above the Northern Ireland average of £669, which is about 33 percent higher (our calculation from Quotezone’s figures). It is also £305 above the UK average of £587. Derry City and Strabane is the only other district above £700, and it still trails Belfast by £170.

At the other end, three districts price below £600: Mid and East Antrim (£599), Ards and North Down (£594) and Causeway Coast and Glens (£583). Even the cheapest part of Northern Ireland sits just £4 below the UK average of £587, which tells you how far the rest of the region sits above the national figure.

Northern Ireland Was the Only Region Where Premiums Rose

Every other region in the index saw its average fall between the second and third quarters. London dropped from £837 to £772, a fall of about £65 or 8 percent. The North West fell 8 percent to £563, the West Midlands fell 6 percent to £650, and Yorkshire fell 5 percent to £571. The smallest changes came in the South West and Scotland, which each fell 2 percent.

Northern Ireland rose 1 percent, a move of about £8.50 from £660 to £669. That is a small rise next to the falls elsewhere, but it changes the league table. Northern Ireland is now the second most expensive region in the UK, ahead of the West Midlands at £650 and well clear of Wales at £482 and the South West at £471.

The South West is the cheapest region, so the gap between it and Northern Ireland is £198, or about 42 percent. Quotezone’s own explanation for high urban premiums is higher claim frequencies, theft rates and traffic density, which it cites for London. The index does not publish a separate reason for Belfast’s figure, so this article does not offer one either.

What an 18-Year-Old in Belfast Pays

The sharpest number in the district data is for the youngest drivers. Quotezone puts the average 18-year-old in Belfast at £2,752 a year. That is about three times the Belfast average for all ages (£892) and £1,601 more than the UK average of £1,150 for drivers aged 17 to 24.

Age is the biggest single driver of price in the index. The UK averages for the third quarter are:

• Aged 17 to 24: £1,150
• Aged 25 to 34: £813
• Aged 35 to 44: £626
• Aged 45 to 64: £470
• Aged 65 and over: £427

A driver aged 17 to 24 pays £723 more than a driver aged 65 or over, or about 2.7 times as much. Premiums for the youngest group edged up on the second quarter. Quotezone says the 17 to 24 average remains well below the highs of recent years.

Put the age and postcode effects together and the exposure is clear. A young driver in Belfast sits at the top of both lists, which is how a single policy gets close to £2,752 while the average 45 to 64-year-old across the UK pays £470.

Can You Avoid a Belfast-Sized Premium?

You cannot change your postcode for a quote, and Quotezone’s data is an average, so your own price will differ. There are still steps that move the number, and the index points to one of them directly.

Black-box policies are the first. Quotezone says they often bring new-driver prices down by pricing cover on actual driving behaviour rather than age alone. A telematics device or app records speed, braking and the time of day you drive, and a careful 18-year-old can end up well below the headline £2,752. The trade-off is that poor driving or late-night trips can push the price back up, and some policies add curfews or mileage limits.

Compare widely. Quotezone says comparison tools cover more than 130 UK insurance providers, and prices for the same driver can differ sharply between them. Northern Ireland is the one region where the average rose, so do not assume last year’s insurer is still competitive. Get fresh quotes about three to four weeks before renewal, and compare like for like on excess, cover level and named drivers.

Check the details you can control:

• Where the car is kept overnight. A driveway or garage can price lower than the street, and the district you give is the one the insurer rates you on, so the address must be accurate.
• The voluntary excess. A higher excess usually cuts the premium, but you would pay that amount yourself on any claim, so choose a figure you could afford.
• Annual mileage. An honest, lower estimate can reduce the price. Underestimating it risks a refused claim.
• The car itself. Insurance group ratings differ widely between models, and a smaller engine is often cheaper to cover for a younger driver.
• Who is on the policy. Adding a named driver can lower or raise the price depending on the age and record of that person. Listing a parent as the main driver when a young person is the real main user is called fronting. It is illegal and can void a policy.

Pay attention to the payment method as well. Paying monthly usually costs more over the year than paying in one go, as the insurer adds interest. Check the annual percentage rate before you choose.

If you live in Belfast and your renewal quote looks high, it is not a mistake in the sense of a pricing error. It reflects the way insurers rate the area. The most you can do is shop around, tune the details above, and use telematics if you are a young driver.

The next Quotezone update is due in January 2027, which will show whether Northern Ireland’s rise in the third quarter was a one-off or the start of a trend.

Sources

• Quotezone, Car Insurance Price Index, Q3 2026 (regional, age and Northern Ireland district data; updated October 2026; based on 100,000+ UK policies quoted March 2025 to September 2026; next update January 2027), quotezone.co.uk average car insurance premium by region.