MOTORISTS have seen the biggest car insurance price hike for five years – with costs rising by an average of £115 over the last 12 months, warns new research.

And drivers over 60 years of age have been hit hardest by the steep increases.

Experts say the year-on-year average price rise of 19 per cent is the biggest since 2011, and means that drivers are now paying £715 on average for their comprehensive car insurance premium, compared to just £600 12 month ago.

And they warned the scale of the price hikes, coupled with rising petrol prices and hikes in insurance premium tax, could signal the end of the road for cheaper driving.

While no age group has managed to avoid price rises, younger drivers have been less impacted, according to figures from Confused’s Car Insurance Price Index.

But drivers aged 61 have seen the steepest annual rises of 24 per cent.

Drivers in the Highlands and Islands suffered annual price rises of 24 per cent while motorists in the Hebrides have seen an eye-watering annual price increase of 42 per cent over the year.

Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused, said: “We’ve not seen price rises of this magnitude for five years.

“If prices continue to rise at the rate we’ve been seeing, we could be facing the possibility of average comprehensive premiums breaching the all-time high seen in 2011, when they peaked at £858.

“This, combined with rising fuel prices and increased motoring costs, could result in a sizeable dent in drivers’ pockets.”