Car Premiums Pushed Up By Uninsured Drivers

Car insurance premiums are being hiked across the country, as a result of more illegal motorists driving without any cover.

Such is the claim of Graeme Trudgill, the technical and corporate affairs executive at the British Insurance Brokers' Association. He recently stated, motorist are on average spending an extra 30 pounds a year on their premium as a result of uninsured drivers. As such, unlawful drivers of this type are costing the UK public around 500 million pounds a year. He states that the current problem has been driven by two main factors: high insurance costs which consumers find difficult to manage and a perception among some members of the public that they will be able to get away with driving without cover.

As the number of uninsured drivers on the roads has increased over the past few years, the knock-on financial impact for insured motorists has also grown steadily, Mr Trudgill explained.

For those who are struggling with current motoring costs, taking out a car loan may prove an effective way they can keep their vehicle insured. On top of that, for people looking to buy a new car, by applying for a cheap car loan they could borrow enough to not only buy the car but cover insurance premiums as well.

Mr Trudgill warned drivers considering taking to the roads without cover that improved cooperation between police and the insurance industry meant that a growing number of motorists are paying the price for doing so.

He explained: "The police can now stop a vehicle on the road side and can see whether it's insured or not and they now have powers to seize that vehicle at the road side. They have confiscated just short of 250,000 cars since their new powers came into force. So recently we have managed to make a dent in the problem."

Further legislation introduced recently has also made it a crime to be in the possession of an uninsured vehicle. As such, Mr Trudgill warned: "If you drive a vehicle without insurance, it is only a matter of time before you are caught."

However, despite invigorated efforts to stem the number of motorists driving without cover, the Biba spokesperson conceded that at present, it was still a "massive problem", with more than two million uninsured vehicles throughout Britain. Further research from Direct Line has shown that around one in twenty motorists currently lack cover, amounting to 1.5 million people.

For those keen to make sure they are well protected when purchasing a new vehicle, taking out a car loan may afford them the financial flexibility to take out comprehensive cover to avoid the risk of being caught out in the event of an accident. Leftover funds from a car loan may also come in handy covering other expenses such as petrol, with recent figures from uSwitch showing that UK fuel prices are the highest in Europe.