Latest Car Insurance News

Posted August 30th 2005

Increasing numbers of uninsured car drivers

Figures recently obtained in parliament by one of the main political parties reveal an increase of 20% over a 2 year period in the number of uninsured drivers caught in England and Wales in 2003 compared to 2001. In terms of actual numbers this translates into 272,000 drivers who were driving illegally on Britain's roads in 2003. According to the Association of British Insurers, car insurance premiums will need to rise each year to cover the increasing cost of accidents and injury compensation claims caused by uninsured drivers. Industry representatives and some members of parliament are now calling for an immediate change in the law to punish offenders with sentences and fines that act as a deterrent.

Posted August 2005

Boy racers cause insurance misery for all young drivers

With statistics showing a marked rise in the levels of accidents and deaths on the road involving young drivers, car insurance companies are now starting to offer enhanced no claims bonuses to young men driving small engined cars who don't have an accident. Drivers of souped-up vehicles are, on the other hand, being liable to face a steep increase in insurance premiums as are young women, despite the fact that they are seen to be the most responsible road users in this age group of car drivers. Insurance companies appear to have no other option than to penalise young drivers as, for a number of reasons, they crash more often with more expensive consequences, including serious injury or fatality, and have more convictions, thus creating a situation where everyone in the same age group is forced to pay higher premiums, however flawless their track-record is and whatever vehicle they choose to drive.

A responsible attitude to road use, principally careful and considerate driving resulting in minor or no accidents at all, coupled with driving a small-engined car is the best way to reduce car insurance premiums for young people, although this seems to be over-looked by many young men whose inexperience and exuberance causes them to spend all their money making their cars go faster, leaving them, in many cases, unable to buy insurance at all. The signifcant amount of claims by uninsured drivers under the age of 25 is undoubtedly instrumental in pushing premiums up to catastrophic levels, causing great concern amongst a number of car insurance companies who criticise a culture of 'bigger is best' when it comes to buying a first car and then subsequently altering it to potentially dangerous performance levels when driven by a young person with little or no experience. This inevitably has the unsatisfactory outcome of misery for everyone in the same age group when shopping around for the cheapest car insurance quotes, an issue that needs addressing if safe and legal driving is to be promoted amongst young drivers, male and female.

April 2005 to July 2005 News Articles

May 2004 to December 2004 News Articles

March 2004 to April 2004 News Articles