by Richard Kilner
Young Marmalade, the specialist car insurer for the young, has commissioned research which reveals that 86% of learner drivers are being ripped off by insurers who charge excessively for adding them to pre-existing parental policies.
Learner drivers who are 17 typically cost £2,000 at least and £50,000 (per year) at most to be added to the insurance policies of their parents.
This has helped create the situation where 300,000 learner drivers are without insurance and driving illegally.
Young Marmalade Chief Executive Officer Crispin Moger has described the statistics as horrific for road safety.
Another problem emerging from the substantial costs involved in adding learner drivers to their parents’ policies is that many do not get any tuition except from their professional driving instructor, a worrying trend as the British Driving Standards recommends a minimum of 22 hours driving in addition to professional instruction.
Last month a poll for moneysupermarket.com showed that the British public are less than enamoured with uninsured drivers, with 62% of those surveyed calling for penalties to be made harsher.
However, Steve Sweeney, moneysupermarket.com’s head of motor insurance, does not believe stricter punishments are the way ahead, nor does Dan Moore, Which? car insurance expert, both of whom have called for innovation and encouragement to promote the uptake of car insurance.
06.07.10
Halfords and Provisional Marmalade are collaborating to offer a new, innovative car insurance product to provisional drivers.
Provisional drivers will be able to take out fully comprehensive insurance on a friend or family member’s car, for just £3 per day.
Insurance can be a major obstacle for learner drivers, with premiums as high as £3,000 and some insurers refusing to insure people under 21 or 25.
The new product’s monthly cost is between £90.95 and £99.50 and does not impact upon any existing insurance coverage on the car in question.
Halfords’ Diane Perry has stated that the high cost of insurance premiums is discouraging learner drivers from practising outside of driving lessons.
Not only do many learner drivers avoid insurance altogether to escape the cost, some opt for the criminal practice of fronting, which involves parents falsely claiming they are the principle driver of their children’s car.
Research commissioned by Young Marmalade and First Car Magazine showed that almost 42% of parents participated in the criminal activity, which could lead the parent paying a six figure bill, should injury to a third party occur.
Source: Insurance Daily
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