Premium loading

A loading is the insurer pricing a risk it considers above average, on top of the base rate your profile would otherwise attract. It is the mechanism behind much of the variation between quotes: two drivers in the same car can pay very differently because one carries loadings the other does not — for recent claims, a high-theft suburb, a young driver, or declared modifications.

Loadings can apply to the whole premium or be ring-fenced to the risk that caused them, such as an extra theft excess on a frequently-stolen model rather than a blanket increase. Some are temporary and ease with time — a recent-claims loading typically falls away as the claim ages and a clean record rebuilds.

Because insurers weight these factors differently, a loading one insurer applies heavily another may barely charge for. That is precisely why comparing quotes matters: the cheapest market price for a loaded risk is often dramatically lower than the dearest, for identical cover.