Low premiums go up in smoke for careless drivers

Drivers caught smoking at the wheel risk having their fingers burnt three times over following changes to the Highway Code, warns Confused.com, UK car insurance comparison service.

Anyone lighting up while in control of their vehicle now risks three points on their licence, a £60 fine and significant hikes in their insurance premiums. In some cases insurers are more than doubling premiums while others are refusing to quote.

To assess the impact of a smoking-related CD10 conviction (driving without due care and attention) on insurance premiums, Confused.com took the profiles of two men aged 37 and 21 respectively, driving a 1.4 Ford Puma, living in Taunton with three years no claims bonus.

Confused.com's research reveals that while the 37 year old driver sees average increases of over 9% for one conviction, shooting up to a massive 33% for two convictions, the 21 year old is automatically hit with a whopping 21.7% increase for one conviction, and over 31% for two convictions.

Moreover, drivers with smoking-related CD10's can expect the number of insurers willing to quote for their insurance to plummet, falling by 34% for the 21 year driver with two convictions and by 52.5% for the 37 year old.

Despite this bad news, shopping around can still net drivers significant savings, equivalent to £441 for a 21 year old with one CD10 worth six points, and £104 for the 37 year old with the same conviction.

Debra Williams, Managing Director of Confused.com, says: "Driving without due care and attention is taken very seriously by insurers, and this is reflected in the amount by which premiums rise with CD10's on your licence. As changes to the Highway Code have only recently been introduced, only time will tell which insurers increase or decrease the level to which they penalize those caught smoking while driving. However one thing remains certain, points on your licence spells bad news for your insurance premium. This makes a thorough search of the market the only sure way to keep the cost of insurance down."

Confused.com is the UK's fastest and most comprehensive car insurance price comparison service, instantly searching and comparing prices from 97 per cent of the insurance market, returning real-time, fully underwritten quotes in less than two minutes. On average, drivers using Confused.com save £215.