Motorists in London and North West England pay the most to insure their cars, according to research from moneysupermarket motor insurance, whilst Dundee, Aberdeen and Exeter are the cheapest in the UK.

The research found that the most expensive area in the UK to get a Ford Focus insured is East London with annual premiums around £315, compared with a premium of £116 for the same car in Dundee.

Director of insurance at Moneysupermerket.com, Richard Mason, commented... "It's not surprising premiums are high in the inner city area of East London, where crime can be prevalent. Car insurers looks at the rate of car crime, the type of car you drive, your age and whether your area has drivers classed as 'high-risk' or particularly prone to accidents. There are no hard and fast rules though, so even if you live in an area where the incidence of car crime is low, you could suffer high premiums because of the number of reckless drivers in your town. It is astonishing that it costs an extra £199 to 'park on a driveway' in East London compared with Dundee. I would call on insurers to assess premiums on a case by case basis, rather than blacklisting places such as London, Bolton, Liverpool and Manchester as 'high-risk'."

Whilst areas of the North West pay more, parts of the South West such as Exeter, Truro, Taunton and Bristol all feature among the ten cheapest areas for car insurance in the UK.

These differences highlight the importance of shopping around for motor insurance rather than just accepting your renewal premium. Many of the insurance price comparison sites such as Moneysupermarket, Compare the Market and Gocompare make it easy to compare quotes from multiple car insurance companies in one go.