Insurance blogger was searching the blogosphere when he came across this interesting story about the incredible number of uninsured drivers there are on the UK highways and byways, that quite frankly make you paranoid every time you get behind the wheel of your car:
300,000 Young Drivers without Insurance on UK roads
by Performance Car Insurance on July 22nd, 2010
According to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau in a report released today, there has been a twenty percent drop in the number of people driving without car insurance in the UK.However, there are still a third of a million uninsured drivers on the roads in the UK without adequate car insurance cover.
And it’s young drivers who are the biggest culprits when it comes to breaking the law and putting other road users at risk of loss.
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) reports:
Young drivers are the least likely to be insured with new figures suggesting the problem is worse in Britain than any country in Western Europe.
One in five uninsured drivers is aged between 17 and 20.
300,000 young drivers in that age group breaking the law when they get behind the wheel of a car. Many have taken their driving test and hold a full licence but claim they cannot afford the rates charged by Car Insurance Companies
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau Chief executive Ashton West said
“We’ve made significant progress and seen a 20% reduction but we’ve still got a pretty embarrassing record in the UK and there’s a lot more that we need to do to rid the country of this problem.
“Young drivers present a higher risk so they end up paying more.
“The cost of insurance is higher, therefore some of them see that as beyond what they’re prepared to pay and they take the risk.”
Uninsured driving is not helped by the courts who typically hand out a £200 fine and six points on your licence.
When you consider that the average young drivers car insurance premium is in the region of £2000 per year, and that the car may only be worth £500 and the fine £200 – you can see why taking a risk with uninsured driving is attractive to a certain type of young driver.
However what they fail to realise is that when they are caught they will be paying for this in high premiums for rest of their lives.
Cheap Young Drivers Car Insurance is available from a variety of providers at Car Insurance TV. Compare car insurance prices and shop around for cheaper quotes!
So on my way over to the Insurance Blog offices what do I hear on the BBC Radio One lunchtime news program for young people – Newsbeat – a very interesting programme about the outrageous costs of car insurance for young drivers.
Being the BBC they have gone all multi media and you can follow the show at BBC Newsbeat Facebook and listen to and download the podcast at http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat
Listening to many of the comments and reading posts like this….
From Facebook
Chris Kidwell
I’m 22. I’ve been driving for 5 years. I’ve never had an accident. 2 weeks ago a 60 year old man crashed into my car while it was parked. He’s probably got protected insurance cover, and his premium will hardly go up even though he wrote my car off and damaged 2 other cars. I’ve never even come close to an accident in my 5 years, but my high … See moreinsurance policies have probably totalled enough to cover the damage to the other two vehicles, my written off car, and all the hire cars involved… So even though I’m the driver that is least likely to have an accident, my money is more likely to have paid for his irresponsible action. I do feel that young drivers are all tarred with the same brush. There should be a standard amount that all drivers start on (say £900-£1000) a year. Then the premium can increase/decrease accordingly depending on how the driver fares on the road. To charge anyone £3000 a year without knowing whether they are actually a bad driver is wrong.
Source: www.insuranceblog.co.uk
