Boy racer extras increase premiums by as much as £6,225

Under 21's opting for ‘go-fast' extras such as spoilers, tinted windows and exhaust system changes can add up to £6,225 to the cost of insurance, according to research from uSwitch.com. In addition, opting for the ‘sporty' version of the most popular cars adds an average of £3,400 to what are already pricey policies.

The cost of insurance for cars with modifications ranges from an additional £88 for a car with simple side skirts to £756 for tinted windows on a Ford Focus 1.6. On the same car, adding flared wheel arches and wings can add almost £3,500. For those that go the whole hog with exhaust system changes can expect to pay an £6,225 - bringing the total car insurance cost up to £10,516.

Young drivers opting for the ‘sporty' version of cars such as the Ford Fiesta or the Vauxhall Corsa could more than double their policy. One of the worst offenders - a Peugeot 206 GTI - automatically adds an extra £6,485 to the premium, raising the cost of insurance from £4,638 for a regular Peugeot 206 to £11,123 for the sport version - which equates to an astonishing 223% of the total value of the vehicle (£4,995). Overall, across the eight most popular cars for young drivers, opting for the sporty version increases the insurance premium by an average of £3,400 to £7,844.

All drivers have seen their car insurance premiums rise by almost 10% in the last 12 months, but new research by uSwitch.com reveals that, despite rumblings of an equality bill, it's still not an even playing field. In fact, young drivers (17-21 year olds) account for just 7% of all drivers but they are currently paying over £3 billion a year for car insurance. With the entire market worth £9.7 billion, this represents 32% of the UK's overall spend on car insurance.

The Government recently published its long-awaited Equality Bill, designed to tackle age and gender discrimination and introduce transparency across businesses, which could potentially affect the current workings of the car insurance industry. Car insurance providers are currently allowed to impose these price hikes on young drivers because of the higher risk associated with their age. However, if the Equality Bill is passed, the car insurance industry will have to openly justify the proportionate differences in young drivers' premiums and benefits by publishing actuarial and statistical up-to-date data which is accessible to consumers.

To what extent this will affect the motor insurance market as a whole remains uncertain. There has, however, been much speculation as to the potential adverse effects (essentially hiked premiums across the board) if insurers are forced to change the way in which they assess age-related risk. Although, many believe that young drivers are given a raw deal when it comes to insurance premiums, the accident statistics relating to younger motorists are compelling.

For example, despite young drivers representing just 7% of the car insurance market, they account for 34% of dangerous driving offences and out of the 8,479 drivers who were killed or seriously injured on the road in 2007, 30% of those were under the age of 25. Coupled with research showing how young male drivers are ten times more likely to be involved in a motoring accident, this goes a long way to explain why insurers levy such a high premiums to this younger age group.

To further reduce costs, young drivers' can take the Pass Plus driving test which saves an average of £357 on their car insurance. Furthermore, for those who do not make any claims, the cost of insurance premiums falls dramatically. If between the ages of 17 - 27, you have built up ten years worth of no claims discount, a young driver can expect to see their premium fall to just £289.58 - that a decrease of 93% or £4,002.

Mark Monteiro, insurance expert at uSwitch.com, comments: "Car insurance for young drivers is already really expensive so opting for cars that fall into a more expensive insurance group really isn't advisable. In most cases, insuring cars such as the Peugeot 206 GTI will cost more than actually buying the car in the first place. As soon as modifications are made such as spoilers and tinted windows, premiums will only rocket further.

"The Equality Bill has been designed to bring an end to age and gender discrimination across industries and places of work, as well as introduce more transparency. If the Bill becomes law, the motor insurance industry will only be able to lawfully impose higher premiums for young drivers if based on published actuarial and statistical data. "Whether the Equality Bill comes to be passed or not, the most important advice to young drivers is to research the cost of insurance before you purchase a vehicle."