Has Been Dissuced Before

[TWR]

Rip Off this morning, young persons talking about the cost of Insurance & getting ripped off, saying the Insurance was more expensive than the car they had, Is it fair to the Young? it has been said that they are involved in a lot of accidents, should it be that for the first 3 years they can not drive a car above 950 / 1000cc? this way they learn how to control their way of driving thus helping themselves to get a cheaper Insurance.

[Mamyalynne]

Something similar to Black Box Insurance can be a help in getting costs down, a difficult area I agree.

[SPARKPLUGZ]

My son is coming up for 17. He is looking for a car under 1000cc and over 10 years old,this is all he can afford and we have had fully comp quotes from £4000 down to £1200 ( 3rd party fire theft with a 'black box). He's a sensible lad and will be using the car just to get to college as we have no bus route here in the sticks. Its a disgrace it really is.

[douglas9401]

The first problem with your limited engine capacity is that modern cars around the 1000cc mark can still do 100mph plus.

[TWR]

Spark, advise your son to keep searching, there was also an issue with some insurance black boxes feeding back wrong driving info to the Insures, he may get fed up searching but Google is full of Car Insurance Sites.

[fiction-factory]

If it was economic to offer insurance to young drivers at much lower rates I am sure some of the hundreds of insurers would have tried to corner the market. Young drivers though, especially within the first couple of years, are more prone to having accidents due to lack of experience, immaturity, poor quaity cars, an atraction to speed, a desire to show off... all sorts of reasons. Of course many are very safe drivers but too many aren't and it's difficult for insurers to know until it's too late. IMotor insurance is expensive but it's not always profitable for insurers- minor claims can cost a few thousand pounds and major claims can cost many millions. Insurers will be cautious until the driver has a good record and often that means not until approaching age 25

[Guilbert53]

>>>Its a disgrace it really is.

It is not a disgrace, it is just common sense from the insurance companies.

If you ran an insurance company would you want to insure a lot of young drivers?

Quite often the quotes from the insurance companies are deliberately high to stop the young drivers insuring with them.

p.s. I live near a major road / high st and the fast and aggressive driving I see from some young drivers explains why their insurance costs are so high.

I read somewhere a year or so back that the main cause of death amongst 16-20 year olds was in a car accident, either as the driver or as the passenger in the car.

Just a few weeks ago in our area a young lad who had only passed his test a few months earlier was racing down a country lane, misjudged a bend, and killed himself. He could easily have killed others.

Watch this video to see how some young drivers behave (they were both killed)



Insurance costs are high for young drivers for a reason.

[ummmm]

My poor son had his car for about two weeks when someone crashed into him. He was 18. At the scene she admitted liability but later denied it. Luckily there were independent witnesses who gave my son their details.

Had it not been for those witnesses he probably wouldn't have been able to afford to drive again for quite some time.

[EDDIE51]

Statistics are what insurance companies go on and statistics say that
1 in 3 drivers under 20 have an insurance claim accident in their 1st year of driving . That is why the insurance cost is so high.
Adding a named older driver with a good driving record can lower the insurance quote quite a lot, but you MUST make sure the young driver is the policy holder . A popular scam is for the parent to insure the car in their name with the child as a named driver but insurance companies are wise to that one now and can void the insurance if they suspect it is happening.

[TWR]

Guilbert, I mentioned on a threat a while back that when a young person passes his/ her test the car must be a 950/ 1000cc & limited to 60, I should have said 50, a Truck
's speed is Limited by a Seal in place on the Derv Pump / Taco / Gearbox & can "only" be removed by a test Station or Ministry, this should be the same with young drivers, this post is about young drivers only.

[SPARKPLUGZ]

I don't agree with putting a limit on a cars speed as this can be dangerous in itself. The Insurance companies have a monopoly and they know it and it is unfair. I've also heard Black Boxes can be unreliable too but what can you do?

[fiction-factory]

>The Insurance companies have a monopoly and they know it and it is unfair
Not sure what you mean. That's like saying supermarkets or pubs or petrol stations have a monoply. There are lots of new companies moving in (and out) of the market- firms like Asda, Virgin Tesco, M&S. If you use a comparison site there are hundreds of companies competing for your business and offering cash back deals

[bhg481]

The insurance companies don't have a monopoly, they are separate companies which assess your risk and offer you a price. Some are cheaper for young drivers, some are cheaper for old people/low-mileage drivers etc. They all know that inexperienced drivers are a bigger risk than experienced ones, so charge more.

[TWR]

It's only unfair & Dangerous to the person driving the car Spark, the device if fitted saves life's not destroys life's.

[TWR]

Just noticed this, Discussed, sorry all.

[EcclesCake]

My father was a considerably greater risk on the road than any of my neices or nephews.

I know who I'd be happy to be a passenger with.

Risk assessment should be spread across all age groups, genders etc.

[bhg481]

Eccles - How often was he involved in accidents; that's what the insurance companies need to know because that is what costs them money.

[Baldric]

/// Is it fair to the Young? ///

Of course it is, and fair to everyone else as well.

Ensures the ones who cause the most problems pay the most.

[EcclesCake]

BHG, I'm aware of two incidents, I believe there were more. One involved five parked cars...........

[EcclesCake]

BHG, new drivers have no history and are consequently jusdgd by the abilities of there peers.

My father never even passed a test!

[bhg481]

Eccles - in which case his insurance premium should have reflected the fact.