CAR INSURANCE BLOG

Young drivers: Risk and car insurance - An action plan

1. The improvement of the education of teenagers at school so as to much better inform them of road safety and driving risks with the aim of not just improving knowledge but changing attutudes to reckless driving and reckless drivers.
2. Involving parents in this proces to improve their knowledge with the expectation that they would become more involved in reducing their children's risk. This knowledge could be supplemented via the provision of regular risk briefing updates in the form of a leaflet sent with the registration documents of any car new to its keeper.
3. Enhancement of the driving test to more effectively test driving skills in higher risk situations. This could involve use of a qualified driving instructor-certified learner driver log book to confirm the required exposure to higher risk driving experiences, for example, driving on rural roads or at night.
4. Government-led, FSA coordinated and ABI endorsed guidelines to encourage the uptake of advanced driver skills training such as Pass Plus by rewarding the taking of this training via reduced car insurance premiums.

1. Young drivers should buy a low car insurance group car and check numerous quotes using a price comparison site. They should make full use of premium-reducing measures such as security enhancements, adding an over-25 as a second driver and capping the annual mileage.
2. Telematics can reduce the cost of car insurance for the safer young driver by more accurately assessing risk. The car insurance industry needs to adopt this technology more widely while young drivers should actively seek it out in order to reduce their premiums.
3. Consideration of graduated driver licensing is warranted. A voluntary code along GDL lines, policed for compliance via telematics and video monitoring could usefully be conducted by the industry.
   
4. The car insurance industry along with law enforcement services and the government are clamping down on fraud and uninsured drivers. These developments have or will shortly be occuring via enhanced data sharing.and the rolling out of insurers checking data routinely to detect undisclosed premium-increasing factors such as previous claims or license points. The government will shortly be implementing continuous insurance enforcement. Car insurers should be encouraged to make full use of this data to clamp down on dishonest applications and claims.
5. Law enforcement services should work more closely with the car insurance industry via dedicated insurance fraud units able to work at supra-regional level.
6. The Jackson Report recommendations should be implemented to help to control personal injury claims that are pushing up the cost of car insurance.
7. The Ministry of Justice should be bold in their clamp down on rogue elements of the claims mangement sector to kerb the flood of injury claims that would not otherwise be brought.