Despite rising car insurance prices, Martin Lewis offers advice on how people can save hundreds. The MoneySavingExpert branded the increases 'horrific' after it was revealed that prices are now up 61 percent.

In a WalesOnline report, Mr Lewis warned his followers on X, formerly known as Twitter, to "take cover". He wrote: "Car insurance prices now up, gulp, 61% and average over £900/yr. Even if not at renewal, check if you can lock in to save £100s."

"In September, I warned here that we were seeing horrific rises in car insurance. New data out then showed average renewal prices 41% higher, and we cautioned you to act urgently as worse was predicted. Now... it seems 'worse' is here, seemingly even more quickly than expected.

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"The new stats are from different sources from last month, analysts at Consumer Intelligence, who assess 17m quotes a year. The stats show premiums are up a whopping 61% on last year, while comparison site Confused says the average price is now a massive £924 a year.

"And indeed both are reflected by the wrath people report their renewals to me with on social media. And sadly, Consumer Intelligence says things are likely (no guarantee though) to keep getting worse until the middle of 2024.

"Insurers say rises are partly due to general inflation, rising car repair costs - with garages charging more for parts and labour - and paying out more for written-off cars, due to the value of used cars getting ever higher. Whether this justifies it or not is frankly moot; the rises are happening, the most pressing issue is how to try to counter them, so let me say it again...

"Everyone, take a few minutes to check if you're overpaying. If you are, even if you're not near renewal, you may be able to lock in a price to forestall future increases for a year."

Mr Lewis advises shopping around for insurance rather than automatically accepting the offered renewal price. He also suggests trying to find a quote weeks before the policy expires, as this tends to be cheaper.