Driving restrictions for youngsters could cut insurance cost by 10%
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Insurance premiums for younger drivers could fall by at least 10% if a ‘graduated licence’ scheme were introduced restricting newly qualified teenagers from driving at night and carrying young passengers, according to online motor insurer swiftcover.com.
swiftcover.com has welcomed research by Cardiff University that suggests special licences for 17 to 19 year old motorists would save 200 lives a year and lead to 1,700 fewer serious injuries on British roads. The insurer says that making car insurance more affordable could also help cut the number of uninsured drivers.
Currently young and newly qualified drivers pay higher motor insurance premiums because they are the riskiest drivers on the road. swiftcover.com claims statistics show that men up to the age of 21 account for 62% of the total value of claims in that age group, whilst research shows that young men under the age of 21 are ten times more likely to die on the road than other motorists and account for a third of dangerous driving convictions*.
Craig Staniland, underwriting director for swiftcover.com, explains: “It’s a sad fact that too many young drivers are involved in serious car accidents, resulting in drivers aged 17 to 19 being charged higher premiums. This can lead to many youngsters driving without any insurance at all, which in turn just adds to the insurance burden for all.
“Introducing a scheme that would limit the time young and newly qualified drivers spend on the road, particular during potentially dangerous periods such as at night, would enable teenaged drivers to get valuable road experience under safer conditions and help instil a great sense of responsibility and safety. If this also cuts the number of road accidents involving young people, not only would it save lives it would also bring down the cost of insurance premiums for younger drivers.”
The Cardiff University research proposes that graduated licences, which are already being used successfully in Australia, New Zealand parts of the US, would be in force for as long as two years and could also include a total ban on alcohol.
ENDS
*Brake’s Road Safety Research, 2009
Notes to Editors
For press enquiries please contact:
Paul Beadle or Joshua Van Raalte
Brazil (PR agency for swiftcover.com)
01865 556 000
swiftcover@agencybrazil.com
About swiftcover:
Based in Cobham, Surrey and employing over 800 people, www.swiftcover.com started trading in June 2005 and was born out of a desire to revolutionise the general insurance market.
swiftcover.com offers car, travel and pet insurance online, and is Britain's only insurance company without call centres, which means that the cost savings can be passed directly onto the customer and premiums are kept low. In 2008 swiftcover.com featured as the cheapest insurance quote on the comparison website moneysupermarket.com more often than any other insurer.
This powerful operating model combined with successful marketing and competitive pricing has proven to be a tremendous success. In 2008 swiftcover.com achieved over half a million live policies and in May 2009 sold their one millionth policy. They are considered to be the fastest-growing insurer in the UK.
In 2007, AXA UK acquired swiftcover.com. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of AXA Insurance UK PLC which forms part of AXA Group.
About AXA:
AXA UK is a part of the AXA Group. AXA is a world leader in financial protection. AXA’s operations are diverse with major operations in Western Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area. AXA employs 120,000 staff and tied agents and, as of June 30 2006, had €1,091 billion in assets under management. AXA reported total IFRS revenues of €72 billion and IFRS underlying earnings of €3,258 million for the full year 2005. Our previous company performance is not a guide to how we may perform in the future.
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