Young drivers are more likely to be involved in a car accident and the reason is often cited as a lack of experience on the road. Future changes are expected to be made to the licencing process for new drivers in the UK that will require longer probationary periods and mandatory practice hours on the road which include night driving. It is hoped that the changes will drastically reduce the number of fatal accidents involving young drivers.
The impact that the statistical data has on young drivers overall is that car insurance providers see them as a high risk group for providing coverage. They are the group of drivers most likely to file a claim and those claims are usually higher in cost than the average claim. This leads to higher costs in premiums for the young driver group.
Some young drivers and parents may feel that car insurance providers are out to get the young drivers with the highest premiums possible but that isn’t the case. According to Penny Gusner of Carinsurance.com, “Car insurance companies are not out to get younger drivers. Rates go up because of claims, and the younger end of the spectrum is where the claims occur.”
An alternative to being stuck with high premiums in car insurance is to consider telematics car insurance. Experts suggest to young drivers and their families that the product allows the young driver to prove they are worthy of lower risk premiums. It is possible to prove due to the fact that telematics car insurance collects actual real time driving data on the insured driver through a high tech GPS unit installed into the car. Data is collected on the driver for risk assessment and by practicing safe driving habits a driver can have an impact on their own car insurance rates.
Experience and time on the road will make a young driver better prepared for the responsibility of driving. Telematics car insurance could be a tool to help them both afford to be on the road as well as a tool for providing feedback as to their efforts to drive safely. It could also offer peace of mind to a parent concerned with their child taking on their new task. The benefits are vast for a car insurance product that could also offer savings in comparison to a standard car insurance policy.
