Consumers have been warned to pay attention to the total cost of comprehensive car insurance cover.

The British Insurance Broker’s Association has advised car insurance customers to beware, pointing out that policies that initially seem cheap may require further add-ons later on which could significantly raise the cost of the policy. As the holiday season approaches, customers are advised to check their insurance policy thoroughly and, if the policy does not contain a feature they need, to think about how much it will cost to add this feature on at a later date.

For instance, if you plan to drive to Europe but are not covered by your basic policy while doing so, it is a good idea to find out how much it will cost to add that cover on.

Graeme Trudgill, technical and corporate affairs executive, advised motorists to think: "Ok, if I know it's going to cost fifty pounds extra if I go to France then I will bear that in mind when I get the quotes in the first instance."