Phone laws to hit car insurance premiums
Published On 15 March 2007
The new mobile phone laws will make it increasingly difficult for UK drivers to find competitive insurance premiums, a report has claimed.Drivers caught using a mobile phone at the wheel can now receive a £60 fine and three points on their licence, as part of the government's attempt to hammer home the importance of concentration in the car.
Insurance broker Quoteline Direct believes that 10,000 drivers will be pushed into the non-standard insurance bracket as a result of convictions, as insurers take an unforgiving approach to this particular folly.
Quoteline Direct's Paul O' Gorman said: "Insurers will be using this as an excuse to push people automatically into the non-standard insurance bracket. Three points on a licence for speeding or jumping a red light has always bumped up premiums slightly but I expect many insurers to take a harsher view of people convicted of this offence.
"The widespread publicity this has received and the increasingly taboo action of using a phone while driving will mean as many as 10,000 drivers a year will be stung by their insurance company. It is important that if you are convicted to seek out an insurance company that specialises in non-standard insurance," he added.
Brake, the road safety organisation, has this week stepped up its attempt to make drivers more responsible, by calling on the government to ban sat-nav systems with on-screen maps. A report from Brake insists that these can be as distracting as mobile phones, as drivers are encouraged to look away from the road to navigate their journey.
