Car insurance pushed up by uninsured motorists

Honest drivers paying for those that are uninsured

12:04 08 March 2005

Sainsbury's Bank has released new research today showing that honest motorists are paying 600 million more than they should do, to make up for the damage caused by uninsured drivers.

There are around one million uninsured drivers operating in the UK, and this group has been found to be more likely to have accidents with other road users than people with car insurance.

Uninsured drivers are also the most likely to fail to stop after an accident and ten times more likely to have been convicted of drink-driving.

A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said: "Competition between insurers can keep prices down but at the end of the day insurers have to make a profit. The cost of uninsured drivers is going to have to be met somehow."

Sainsbury's Car Insurance found that premiums could fall by around six per cent if it was made illegal for all registered owners and drivers alike to go without insurance.

The ABI has said it wants the law changed to make it illegal to be the registered owner of an uninsured vehicle. Currently it is only illegal to drive an uninsured vehicle on the public roads, meaning that motorists can only be caught by roadside checks.