Rising levels of fraud are contributing to record increases in car insurance premiums, an insurer has said.

AA Insurance said the average cost of a comprehensive motor insurance policy soared by 30.9 per cent during the past year, the fastest rate since it began monitoring premiums 16 years ago.

It added that premiums for younger drivers were rising much faster than the average, with the cost of cover for those aged under 30 soaring by 11.5 per cent during the past quarter alone.

The group said car insurance fraud was one of the principal drivers of the record premium hikes.

The group's comments come as a survey from moneysupermarket.com indicated that 5 per cent of drivers aged under 35 had staged an accident to make a fraudulent insurance claim.

A further 15 per cent of motorists in this age group said they would consider staging an accident to claim on their insurance.

The Association of British Insurers recently said that insurers uncovered £410 million-worth of fraudulent motor insurance claims during 2009.

The group said other types of fraud, such as fronting, where a named driver is in fact the main driver, withholding information, and lying about where a car is kept or what the driver's occupation is, were all also on the rise.