Member Article

Young Drivers Automatically Labelled as Bad Drivers?

With the average cost of insurance for young drivers now standing at a whopping £1,800 a year, it’s no surprise that over half a million 17 and 18 year-olds have identified the cost of insurance to be prohibitive to their aspirations of owning a car. At their 2013 Motor Conference, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) recommended that the Government should bring in new safety standards and restrictions, which would allow premiums to be lowered by as much as £370. The recommendations included:

- Carrying only a limited number of passengers
- Restrictions on night-time driving
- Lowering of accepted blood alcohol limits to zero

The director-general of the ABI, Otto Thoresen, stated: “Insurers want to see young drivers become safer drivers, which in turn will result in more affordable premiums.”

Many, though, would claim that young drivers are labelled with an unwarranted stigma and that there are thousands of drivers under the age of 25 who are considerably safer than their senior counterparts. Better reaction times and a more rigorous driving exam ensures that those who pass their tests today are better equipped to take to Britain’s roads than those who took cursory practical exams 30, 40 or even 50 years ago when roads were much quieter and less complex in their layout.

One point not touched on by the ABI, however, was the penalising of young drivers in non-fault accidents. It is commonplace for young drivers who notify their insurers of an accident to see their premium increase, their no claims bonus wiped clean and even their excess lost to pay for repairs when they have been involved in a road traffic accident caused by another motorist. This also contributes significantly to the hike in premiums that crush so many young drivers’ hopes of taking to the roads.

What many young motorists fail to understand is that they needn’t simply accept fault and a financial penalty for an accident that was caused by someone else. At Winn Solicitors we can protect young drivers by pursuing the other party’s insurers for all costs, including our own, so that they are compensated fully for any damage, inconvenience or injuries in a road traffic accident. This allows young drivers to build their no claims bonus and see premiums go down as a reward for their good driving – as should always be the case.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Winn Solicitors Ltd .