For one day, every week of the year, law-abiding UK drivers are footing the bill to pay for the uninsured and fraudulent drivers on the road, costing drivers a massive £1.25 billion every year according to figures released by
The Co-operative Insurance.
The average driver is estimated to pay around £50 on every policy, which subsidises fraudulent claims as well as claims for accidents caused by uninsured drivers. Under an annual policy, this is equivalent to 52 days cover, or one day a week for every year.
More than 23,000 people are injured and killed by uninsured rivers every year and, as a result of the risk these drivers pose, insurers have to calculate motor insurance policies to reflect this stark fact.
Furthermore, 1 in 4 (23 per cent) of young people have admitted to driving illegally without either insurance, MOT or even a licence over the past year. Through its partnership with National Road Safety Charity Brake, The Co-operative Insurance is working to inspire young people to become responsible road users.
Driving without insurance is illegal and if caught a driver faces having their vehicle seized by the police, a £200 fixed penalty notice and six penalty points on their licence. If the vehicle is not collected with a valid motor insurance policy it is possible that it will be either sold or crushed.
"Millions of people are deliberately flouting the law by not insuring their cars at massive cost to honest road users and the wider insurance industry posing an unnecessary and unjustified risk,” said Tim Franklin, Chief Operating Officer at
The Co-operative Financial Services.
"Whilst work is continuing to be done to highlight the dangers of uninsured drivers and keep them off the UK's public highways by the police, road safety groups and the insurance industry there is clearly more to be done.
"Personal responsibility is at the heart of this issue. If you are an uninsured driver you need to think about the consequences of your actions and purchase insurance, and if you know somebody who is driving around uninsured you should seriously consider reporting them to the authorities.
"The majority of people would report benefit cheats, so why not insurance cheats too? This may sound radical but, to put it into context: if a driver takes out an insurance policy today, they would actually only begin to pay their own policy on October 19 due to the risk calculations that insurers have to make."
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