Posts tagged Young Driver Car Insurance
1 in 4 would break the law to get lower #insurance costs
Apr 17th
14% of drivers have illegally insured their children to drive according to data from a new survey. What’s more, a further 13% would do the same if they had kids.
It seems that the practice of pretending to be the main driver (know as ‘fronting’ in the trade) isn’t seen to be a problem by a significant majority of drivers. In fact, there seems to be quite a lot of uncertainty as to the status of fronting, with 25% of those surveyed believing that it was perfectly legal and and a further 30% undecided.
It’s clearly quite important for the industry to clear this uncertainty up and get the message across load and clear as fronting is probably the most commonly practiced insurance fraud in the country. The penalties for insurance fraud can be severe and can lead to court proceedings.
There are better ways to save money on insurance for young drivers.
ABI calls for night time driving ban
Dec 1st
In a radical suggestion that’s likely to cause much debate and publicity a leading insurance industry body, the ABI (Association of British Insurers), has called for stringent restrictions on driving activities for the under 25s. The ABI represents the views of many major insurers on the UK and these suggestions reflect the growing sense of unease among insurers about the number of motor accidents that can be attributed to young or inexperienced drivers.
According to statistics, one in four of all motor related deaths in the UK is a young driver or one of their passengers. This is despite the fact that young drivers account for only 12% of all motorists. The problem is particularly serious with young male drivers who are on average five times more likely to be involved in a serious motor accident than their older counterparts. A recent EU ruling made it illegal (on grounds of sexual discrimination) for insurance companies to price policies on the basis of gender so insurers face the problem of not being able to set a higher premium for young male drivers. The ABI’s suggestions will be seen by many as a way of addressing this issue. So what exactly did the ABI call for?
- A minimum one year learning period. This is actually quite common in other parts of Europe. Essentially this would mean that a learner driver would have to meet a minimum time period and a minimum number of lessons before being allowed to apply for a driving test.
- A ban on night time driving (between the hours of 11pm and 4am) for all drivers under 25 who have not held a full licence for one year. As the vast majority of serious accidents involving young people occur during night time hours, the proposal would ban the under 25s from driving during the night.
- A complete ban on alcohol consumption for the under 25s. The under 25 age group are more than twice as likely to fail a breathalyser test as older motorists, so complete ban is proposed to remove any uncertainty and doubt as to what the legal limit is.
The AA are already positioning themselves against the ABI’s suggestions. It remains to be seen whether the department of transport and the government take any notice.
cost of #insurance prices young people off the road
Aug 8th
Average annual insurance costs for young men (17 – 20 years old) has burst through the £4,000 a year barrier, according to recent reports.
The figures suggest that the average young male driver now pays a grand total of £4,006 to insure his vehicle. This, when added to the other costs associated with running a car (tax, maintenance, fuel etc) takes the annual runnning costs for a young male driver up to a grand total of £6,500 a year!
The recent rises in insurance costs are partly responsible for the rise in insurance fraud and uninsured driving that is blighting the UK. Other studies suggest that another consequence is that young drivers are simply being priced off the road. It’s high time, we feel, for the industry to start thinking up new and innovative ways to address these issues. We’re ahead of the game, offering a GPS based, telematic insurance policy, why not give us a call to find out more?
Young drivers told to beware of the risks of “fronting”
Jul 11th
Continuing the theme of people who are less than honest on their car insurance, some new research suggests that up to 25% of young drivers admit to lying on their car insurance.
In an attempt to keep their costs down, many young people turn to the odd fib – the most common of which is “fronting”, pretending that one of their parents is the main driver of the car.
Other commonly told lies are claiming to keep the car in a non-existent garage and not declaring any modifications.
It’s a growing trend that worries the insurance industry and the police, as witholding information amounts to fraud and will leave you driving an uninsured vehicle.
If we can’t use gender, can we use haircuts to set insurance premiums?
Mar 8th
The only famous non-fictional Belgian we could think of at short notice
There’s a lot ot talk about the new ECJ ruling at the moment. Some have even gone as far as calling the ruling “bonkers”. Harsh words.
Well they clearly don’t think so in Belgium where they’ve had unisex car insurance since 2007.
So the question arises – if it works for them, what have they done to replace gender as a criteria for assessing risk? If sex is effectively a “substitute criterion” which insurers have used as a shorthand, what could we come up with that replaces gender? According to The Economist, actuaries say that “using other factors in their calculations besides sex is perfectly possible”.
So if the aim is to keep up the premiums of the reckless minority, we’re opening up a debate here and inviting suggestions for what criteria we could use to replace gender when assessing risk.
Here are some suggestions…
- Musical taste – Mozart on the CD brings an instant 10% reduction. Hardcore, Drum and Bass and anything by the Black Eyed Peas carries a hefty additional premium
- Hair cut – 10% off for a neat side parting, 30% if it’s a nice shade of grey. Anything that’s too short, too long or has funny shapes in it costs an additional premium
- An extra 10% added for every discarded KFC wrapper in the footwell
See? It’s easy. These actuaries just need to think a little more laterally…
It might no longer pay to be a female driver…
Feb 16th
We might be about to see a very important ruling from the European Court of Justice that would have far reaching implications for the insurance industry.
If the proposed changes go ahead, it will make it illegal for insurers to calculate risk based on gender. So despite the fact that young men are around 10 times more likely to be involved in a serious accident than young women and twice as likely to make an insurance claim, gender might soon become irrelevant as far as young driver car insurance is concerned. It’s considered discrimination to make those calculations based on gender. Bad news for young women who may see their premiums rise dramatically.
The clever money says that insurers will use other metrics to stand in for gender, occupation perhaps.
Young Drivers could dramatically reduce their insurance premiums
Jan 28th
A satellite over Australia yesterday
Being a young driver can be a difficult and expensive time.
Getting your licence isn’t cheap to begin with, lessons can set you back £25 an hour, the tests about another £100. So when you do finally pass your test the last thing you need to see is a massive insurance premium.
So with this in mind and armed with the latest technology, the most forward thinking companies in the insurance industry have come up with a solution to the problem of young drivers insurance premiums.
We don’t pretend to understand satellite technology but here’s how it works.
The insurance company arrange for a GPS enabled tracking device to be fitted securely to your car. The tracker transmits a signal to the insurance company if the car is driven outside certain agreed times (11pm – 5am usually). If you do drive at night, not to worry, you’ll still be insured but you will have to pay for this “out of hours” insurance on a standard premium. You can do this as many times as you like, but it will cost you.
It’s a simple and effective solution and we’re one of the few companies in the UK who can offer it.
So if you are struggling with the high cost of car insurance give us a call and see what we can do to help.