Insurers are being very hard on motorists who are caught and prosecuted for using their phones whilst driving by increasing premiums by up to 30%.
Churchill, Alliance and Leicester, Norwich Union, Allianz and Zurich are all now asking drivers if they have got a conviction for this and quoting appropriately if they have. The majority of them pushed up policies in February when the penalties were increased for the offence.
According to the AA, on average, annual car insurance is 682 pounds, which means a 30% rise for any convicted motorists would mean paying an extra 204 pounds a year.
Spokesman for Allianz, Mark Bishop, said: 'We decided to raise our premiums for drivers convicted of the offence to 30 per cent in April. We hope that other insurers will follow our lead. We need to enforce the message that this is a dangerous and needless act.'
This strong attitude is being welcomed by the AA. Ian Crowder, said: 'This is a responsible approach by insurers. In our experience, drivers who have been convicted of using their phones tend to pick up more claims and are therefore deemed to be more dangerous. Drivers who use their phones are a big risk in terms of their lack of awareness, concentration on surroundings and failure to control the car properly. This is why a mobile phone offence often goes hand in hand with a careless driving offence.'
A recent survey by the AA revealed that 18% has been added to most companies premiums if a driver has incurred a CU80 (mobile phone penalty) and they are encouraging insurers on their panel to consider the offence when quoting. They also found some companies will not insure anyone with a CU80. If a person is caught speeding it may affect their premium by 10 pounds - 30 pounds the first time but rocket to 150 pounds for subsequent convictions and, some refuse to quote. 'Drivers who speed are seen as less dangerous than those using their mobile, who are not fully in control of their vehicle,' says Mr Crowder.
It was December 2003 when it was made illegal to use a mobile phone while driving but astonishingly the number of people caught doing it is rising. In 2006 168,000 fines were made which is nearly 500 per day, 29% higher than the total in 2005 of 129,700, says the Ministry of Justice. It is thought that 300,000 motorists will use a hand held phone every day and although hands-free are allowed some say that they too are dangerous.
The Statistics
Motorists who text frequently 50%
Concentration is reduced when talking on the phone by 37%
Number of motorists who have points in UK 6 million
Number of driving offences in 2006 (inc speeding and phone use) 12.7 million
Author Resource:-
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