Law-abiding motorists throughout the UK are being hit with inflated car insurance premiums because of the growing number of motorists trying to get away with driving without insurance.
Such is the claim of Graeme Trudgill, the technical and corporate affairs executive at the British Insurance Brokers' Association. In recent comments, he informed motorists that they are commonly spending an additional 30 pounds on their annual insurance policy to cover costs incurred by uninsured motorists. As such, unlawful drivers of this type are costing the UK public around 500 million pounds a year. He states that the current problem has been driven by two main factors: high insurance costs which consumers find difficult to manage and a perception among some members of the public that they will be able to get away with driving without cover.
As the number of uninsured drivers on the roads has increased over the past few years, the knock-on financial impact for insured motorists has also grown steadily, Mr Trudgill explained.
For those who are struggling with current motoring costs, taking out a car loan may prove an effective way they can keep their vehicle insured. On top of that, for people looking to buy a new car, by applying for a cheap car loan they could borrow enough to not only buy the car but cover insurance premiums as well.
Mr Trudgill told motorists thinking about driving without insurance that due to better cooperation between the insurance companies and the police has led to a greater number of convictions.
He explained: "The police can now stop a vehicle on the road side and can see whether it's insured or not and they now have powers to seize that vehicle at the road side. Since they've had these powers they have confiscated about a quarter of a million vehicles. So recently we have managed to make a dent in the problem."
Further legislation introduced recently has also made it a crime to be in the possession of an uninsured vehicle. As such, Mr Trudgill warned: "If you drive a vehicle without insurance, it is only a matter of time before you are caught."
However, despite invigorated efforts to stem the number of motorists driving without cover, the Biba spokesperson conceded that at present, it was still a "massive problem", with more than two million uninsured vehicles throughout Britain. Further research from Direct Line has shown that around one in twenty motorists currently lack cover, amounting to 1.5 million people.
For those keen to make sure they are well protected when purchasing a new vehicle, taking out a car loan may afford them the financial flexibility to take out comprehensive cover to avoid the risk of being caught out in the event of an accident. Leftover funds from a car loan may also come in handy covering other expenses such as petrol, with recent figures from uSwitch showing that UK fuel prices are the highest in Europe.
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Abbi Rouse writes for All About Loans where visitors can apply for a
loan online and also focuses on bad credit loans , and
secured loans for UK Homeowners.
