uSwitch.com: Advertising campaign to reduce drink driving related accidents

Aron Thompson, Head of Car Insurance at independent price comparison and switching service uSwitch.com, responds to the government’s new advertising campaign to reduce the number of drink driving related accidents: “We strongly welcome the government’s new ‘Moments of Doubt’ advertising campaign and hope it will successfully tackle the growing issue of young people drinking and driving head on. Recent research from uSwitch.com revealed that young drivers typically pay £948 for car insurance which is already more than double the average premium of £409. A conviction would increase this already inflated figure by anything up to 53%, making it an increasing financial burden in the future.

“In the first year after a conviction, a young driver could pay up to £1004 more for their car insurance - over a three year period this could be more than £3000. Worse still, in some cases these drivers may not be able to find a new insurance provider as they present such a high risk.

“In addition to the government’s campaign, the MIB has highlighted a direct correlation between those drivers who have driven under the influence of alcohol and those who drive without insurance. This is a huge issue for the industry: the 6% of people already driving without car insurance add around £30 to innocent policyholders’ premiums. Going forward, we hope that this campaign will deter people from drinking and driving and in turn reduce the number of drivers without insurance. For all drivers, with or without convictions, it’s always worth shopping around to get a competitive deal.”