Car owner shops for insurance, gets quoted $1.8 million per year

SALFORD, England, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- A British man shopping for insurance for his 10-year-old car learned one company was prepared to offer coverage for the equivalent of $1.8 million per year.

Rhys Barker, 27, learned on the Zenith Insurance website his car, a Vauxhall Corsa economy car he bought for 1,400 pounds ($2,141), could be insured for 1.2 million pounds ($1,835,401) per year -- or 104,000 pounds ($159,068) in slightly higher monthly installments -- the Belfast Telegraph reported Friday.

Barker lives in Salford, near Manchester, site of some of Britain's highest car insurance rates because of a preponderance of car crimes, the newspaper said.

Gary Humphreys of Markerstudy Group, which owns Zenith Insurance, told the Manchester Evening News the price quote "reflects that we have declined to provide cover. We would not expect a customer to pay such a high premium. This is not a case of pricing customers out of the market, but quoting on the risks that are within our rating parameters."

Barker was shopping for a better rate, the newspaper said.