Why does insurance hike in price in Y3 / Y4?

[aclivity]

Just wondering out loud really. Wife's car has been insured with Privilege for 3 years or so. Renewal letter comes in, and the price is much higher. No accidents, no claims, she hasn't got any younger and giddy that I have noticed, nor has the service that is provided to her changed in any marked fashion. It's just a price hike. I always check renewals each year by shopping around anyway, so for the last couple of years the renewal price has been in line with other insurers.

So we shop around, save about £150 by going with a different insurer.

This happens every 2/3 years - seems you get a low quote at first, first renewal is a bit higher, but then the 3rd or 4th year has a massive hike. Is it purely a cynical ploy to catch people who just pay what they are told? If so, surely this is a rapidly declining market, what with all of the comparison sites repeatedly telling us via TV and radio adverts that you could save a fortune just by talking to them?

[Billy_rfc]

aclivity said:

This happens every 2/3 years - seems you get a low quote at first, first renewal is a bit higher, but then the 3rd or 4th year has a massive hike. Is it purely a cynical ploy to catch people who just pay what they are told?

Got it in one