The Co-operative Insurance saves young drivers £7.2m in their first year
The UK’s first major insurer to reward 17-24 year-olds for responsible driving, The Co-operative Insurance, has saved its young drivers more than £7.2 million in their first year of driving since launching the scheme in March 2011.
In the four years since the insurer introduced the product:
young drivers have covered more than 560,000 miles
drivers have saved almost £170.00 on average in their first year equating to a discount of 15 per cent
Around 60,000 young drivers have been insured
Of young drivers who have had their car stolen, 83 per cent of vehicles have been recovered successfully
To mark the initiative’s four-year anniversary, research commissioned by the insurer has found that peer pressure and distractions continue to be key concerns for young drivers, while many still feel unprepared when they first pass their test.
More than a third of young drivers feel under pressure to drive faster (35 per cent), with more than a quarter admitting that they are most distracted by having their friends in the car (28 per cent).
One in 10 were put off by having their parents riding as a passenger and almost half preferred to drive on their own (47 per cent), saying they felt much safer.
Almost two thirds of those questioned (62 per cent), did not feel adequately prepared to drive safely when they passed their test and more than two in five (40 per cent) know that their parents worry about their driving.
When asked about what excited them most when passing their test, more than half of young female drivers (53 per cent) said it was having independence and one in eight (13 per cent) were happy not to have to use public transport. A fifth of young male drivers (18 per cent) were most excited about feeling like an adult and nearly one in ten (7 per cent) were happy to be able to pick up their girlfriend.
The Co-operative’s own data reveals that almost 98 per cent of young drivers received zero alerts for poor driving behaviour, receiving considerable discounts in their insurance premiums and highlighting the responsible approach many young drivers are taking by opting for a telematics policy.
Steve Kerrigan, Head of Telematics at The Co-operative Insurance, says: “As a leading insurer we have a responsibility in helping to keep our young drivers safe, especially given one in four 18-24 year olds (23%) have a crash within two years of passing their driving test.
“We introduced the young driver scheme to encourage responsible, confident and safe driving and the huge savings that we’ve passed onto our young drivers in their first term over the past four years is significant in proving that the telematics technology is working.
“Often young drivers can feel persecuted for their lack of experience but we believe it is important to reward and encourage safer driving.”