According to comparethemarket.com,the price comparison site, UK drivers are paying, on average, ?31 a year moreon their in order to cover for people who are uninsured, equating to more than ?500m. This figure doesn't take into account the financial costs surroundingaccidents caused by uninsured drivers.
In addition, YouGov research released today by comparethemarket.com reveals 87% of motorists feel that the Governmentdoesn't do enough to prevent people driving without insurance and are callingfor tougher penalties.
At present, the lack of clear and concise penaltiesfor drivers flouting the law serves as little deterrent to would-be illegalmotorists. In fact, the average fine for getting caught driving without in the UKis just ?250, which 79% of respondents felt was too low.
Aside from the incremental price increases for apolicy, 68% of motorists involved in an accident with an uninsured driver hadto incur liability and either pay for the incident themselves (19%) or claim ontheir own insurance (49%), potentially jeopardising no claims bonuses that mayhave been accrued. From the survey sample, more than one in 10respondents (12%) had been involved in an accident with an uninsured driver.
?comparethemarket.com is keen to get consumersthe best possible deal on their motor insurance. One way the Governmentcan help with this objective is to take action to reduce the number of illegaldrivers on Britain's roads and that has to be through more severe penalties. If the number of illegal drivers decreases then the industry will havemore flexibility in pricing policies for law abiding motorists,? said JeremyMoll, Head of Insurance, comparethemarket.com. ?At present motorpolicies are hit by the knock on effect of uninsured drivers and the financialimplications they create; so any steps to deter uninsured drivers would be amove in the right direction.?
CompareTheMarket.com deserves credit forhighlighting the extent to which uninsured drivers are a serious menace onBritish roads,? said Theresa Villiers, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport.?They are adding money on to every law-abiding driver's at a time whenthe cost of living is increasing sharply.
It is high time the Government took decisive actionon this problem. The average penalty for an uninsured driving offence is afraction of the cost of a year's , incentivising law-breaking. That cannot be right, and I hopeRuth Kelly will pay attention to the 87% of motorists who have told this surveythat she should do something about it. Motorists have had enough of footing thebill for uninsured drivers.?
?It's clear that any deterrent to the problem ofuninsured drivers in the UK would be welcome. It's a major problem inthis country and it's an unfortunate consequence that legal drivers have tobear the cost of this type of crime. Awareness of the potential penalties needsto be increased so it makes drivers think twice before taking to the roadsuninsured,? said Ashton West, Chief Executive for the Motor Insurers' Bureau.
The research also identified some regionalvariances including:
Londoners were most likely to pay for damage causedby an uninsured driver themselves, with 46% choosing to foot the bill; *
Almost 6 in 10 Northerners (59%) have had to payfor damages themselves when involved in an accident with an uninsured driver,whilst in the Midlands this falls to 46%.
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