Today’s Telegraph is reporting that AA research shows a motorist’s first speeding offence can cost four times the typical £60 fine because his or her car insurance premium will rise over three years.
The AA also confirmed that anyone caught using a hand-held device to phone, text or email while driving can expect to be treated severely by their insurer and may even find their cover withdrawn. While insurers have, in the past, often ignored a first speeding offence, the AA has said that insurance companies are more stringent in identifying risk and charge premiums accordingly.
Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, said: “Those who flout the law are more likely to make a claim and their premium reflects that risk. Why should the majority of motorists who stay within the law, subsidise those who don’t? Those who have a single speeding conviction are 10-12 per cent more likely to make a claim than those who have a clean license. Someone who picks up a second offence is 18 per cent more likely to do so than a driver with just one. A driver caught for crossing a red traffic signal, is 20-25 per cent more likely to make a claim.”
The report makes the AA’s Speed Awareness course, costing £90, seem a worthwhile alternative. Funny that.
