16 March 2011

Driving Uninsured? Are more young drivers doing so as car insurance premiums rise

Uninsured drivers are risking not just their own vehicle when they drive without car insurance, but their further financial and career wellbeing.

Driving uninsured cost all motorists dearly, and is clearly not to be condoned, but are many young drivers finding that, with rising insurance premiums it is their only hope of taking to the roads. Being an uninsured driver can have bigger implications than just a damaged car

Research from moneysupermarket.com indicated that up to 16 per cent of UK drivers have driven a car they are not insured to, with seven per cent saying that they had driven their own car without insurance and another seven per cent saying they had driven another vehicle they were not insured to drive.

Peter Harrison, head of car insurance at the company said: "The number of drivers prepared to hit the road without insurance is extremely worrying.”

He estimated that uninsured drivers cost the industry £500 million each year, with separate research indicating that 8% of every car insurance premium now pays for claims from uninsured drivers.

Whilst some may be tempted to take the risk they are not only breaking the law but are facing thousands of pounds in personal liability claims, six points on their licence, and charges of up to £5,000 if they are involved in a accident.

Whilst the Government are planning to introduce new laws that make it not only an offence to not only drive without insurance, but to merely keep an uninsured vehicle it is difficult to see how this will make a significant difference.

Mark Bower, Managing Director at MoneyMaxim said "Many uninsured drivers are young, believing their only route to driving is by driving uninsured due to high car insurance premiums. We specialise in young drivers car insurance so help many in this position – we are aware of the range of policies that are designed for this sector, from the traditional to those restricting driving hours, or monitoring driver behaviour – however we also know that premiums are rising almost by the week.”

"Driving uninsured is a total no-no – it can ruin an individual's future career prospects and create a legacy in terms of higher insurance premiums for many years to come. Also the chances of being caught are rising as CCTV technology linked to the DVLA database becomes more commonplace.”

"We help many customers work through additional insurance scenarios so they understand their options – these include different models of cars, delaying the commencement date of a policy a few weeks until a young driver has had their license for say three or six months, adding additional more experienced drivers to a policy and garaging the car rather than leaving it on the road – all can help”

"We also see families achieve savings through policies such as the Admiral Multi Car Policy which offers larger discounts the more cars that are covered. As Admiral are a company specialising in inexperienced drivers this can be attractive, especially as their discounts are percentage based, which can mean big savings for new drivers.”

Those looking for a young drivers car insurance policy are recommended to review our young drivers car insurance page and to obtain a quotation from our car hire comparison service which includes young driver specialist insurers such as Elephant, Coverbox, Admiral, Quinn Direct, Collingwood and many others.