A petition online to put a maximum of £1,200 a year on car insurance for 18-25 year old’s has gained a lot of momentum in recent months.
Angry young drivers around the UK have been signing the petition since it began, just under six months ago. But as the petition is coming to a close, the parliamentary debate on the issue draws closer.
Hannah Colley, a 23-year-old driver from Whitley Bay claimed: “The amount it costs to get insured is a joke. I’m quite lucky that because of my car, I only pay £350 for the year but I had to really search around to get this deal.
“I know this pales in comparison to the thousands of pounds some people pay but I’ve only got this price because my car is small and I put my mum and dad on as well.”
In comparison, Dean Wales, a 23-year-old driver from Newcastle stated: “I’ve had a licence now since I was 19 and I’m still paying £123 a month. It’s ridiculous.” This works out at almost £1,500 a year.
Lauren Jade, a 21-year-old driver from South Shields, explained: “I was firstly paying £1500 a year for a 0.99l engine Fiat 500, got rid of the car after I’d saved enough to put a deposit on a new car and now pay £1000 a year for a 1.2L turbo corsa, which is still ridiculous.”
The high insurance cost is not only causing frustration for young drivers, but seems to be putting young people off driving all together. Siarlot Lloyd, a student at the University of Sunderland, said: “This is the main reason why I haven’t re-sat my driving test – I couldn’t find any insurance that wasn’t at least twice the cars worth.”
Phil Thornton, the proprietor of 1-2-1 driving in the North East, is also a grade A instructor. He agrees with the petition, stating: “When a young person passes their driving test, insurance prices are too high and should be capped.”
Phil also has his own idea of how insurance companies could create a more fair system for young drivers: “Charge them on a rolling monthly basis, for instance, a new driver at month one could pay £100, and if there is no incident, it could be reduced in month two and so on. If there is a fault incident then the full price could be charged.”
The government responded to this petition, saying: “By strengthening the way that people learn to drive and are tested, and by tackling insurance fraud, this Government is helping bear down on the cost of insurance for new and inexperienced drivers.” They will debate the petition on 20th March 2017.