An organization has issued a warning that the lack of cheap car insurance for young drivers could lead to lower safety on the road.
The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has said that the average cost of an insurance claim by a young motorist is approximately £4,500, but the cost of insurance is usually twice that amount. The Institute argued that the sky rocketing prices of insurance premium could cause the newly qualified drivers to opt for the minimum levels of cover in order to save some money. This means that they could be willing to compromise their safety by driving uninsured.
A spokes person from the Institute of Advanced motorists said, “The steadily increasing level of premiums which young drivers are facing is bound to cause an increased temptation to drive uninsured, although we don’t have the figures.”
They said that this is usually the case for those young drivers who were struggling to come up with the money to be on the road in the first place, mostly due to the cost of buying a vehicle and the high price of fuel.
According to research done by the Institute of Advanced Motorists, young drivers are a lot less likely to afford newer and safer cars than older drivers. This may affect their chances of getting a job, particularly in rural areas where a vehicle could be necessary to get to work.
According to a popular car insurance comparison site, the premiums for 17 to 20 year old drivers saw an annual rise of 8.2 per cent.
