Costly Car insurance premiums have long been a problem in Ireland. The island nation has been troubled with higher rates of domestic violence than most countries in Europe. Not to mention the fact that Irish roads are commonly considered out of date. Countless courses that were created for heavy wagons have received little or no maintenance or repair in centuries.
As you might expect, modern vehicles are not designed to drive on antiquated roads. The result has been a rise in road damage as more cars and trucks brave the dangers of Irish avenues. And since insurance is all about risk, it is only fitting and reasonable that the country with some of the worst roads in Europe should have some of the highest monthly insurance premiums.
Another factor when it comes to calculating insurance payments is that Ireland has a relatively young population. While the rest of Europe is aging, rapidly, Ireland has thousands of younger drivers. And as any actuary could tell you, younger drivers are riskier drivers. Not only do they take more chances and travel at higher speeds, but they are also far more likely to drive drunk than older motorists.
But in spite of all of these irrefutable demographic statistics, monthly auto insurance premiums have actually decreased in the Emerald Isle in recent years. Why is this?
For one thing, Ireland has invested in their road system and drivers are reporting far fewer incidences of road damage. Then there is the fact that accidents have declined over the past few years. One obvious explanation is that people are driving a lot less in the wake of the global economic recession.