The cost to us for uninsured drivers

Young men top uninsured list

February, 2010

Male motorists living in Dumfriesshire are the most likely to have a conviction for driving uninsured, according a respected source within the Insurance Industry.

The  analysis came from  almost three million car insurance quotes given over a year and found that men in their early twenties living in the Scottish town of Sanquhar in Dumfriesshire, have the highest proportion of convictions on their license for driving uninsured (28%).

Men of the same age living in Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, and those in Glasgow, take second and third place, with 24% and 20% respectively having the IN10 conviction.

Boy racers

Men under 25, generally speaking, seem to be the least responsible group of drivers  from all categories, they appear to be both boy racers and law breakers

With half of the top ten profiles for uninsured drivers being males under 25 years old, they are more likely to flout the law by driving without car insurance.

Unfortunately the high cost of car insurance, especially for younger drivers, could be the overriding reason for this. With recent news that the cost of comprehensive car insurance increased by almost 19% in 2009,2 we could see the number of uninsured drivers on our roads increase in the future.

Women drivers

Only one female profile appearing in the top ten. Female motorists in their early twenties living in the market town of Dunstable in Bedfordshire take seventh spot.

Postcode/ Area/ Age / Gender/ Offence Code/ % of convictions

• DG4/ Sanquhar, Dumfriesshire/ 22 – 25/ Male/ IN10/ 28.42%
• HX7/ Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire/ 22 – 25/ Male/ IN10/ 24.88%
• G14/ Glasgow/ 22 – 25/ Male/ IN10/ 20.43%
• M12/ Manchester/ 31 – 40/ Male/ IN10/ 17.42%
• KA4 Galston, Ayrshire/ 17 – 21/ Male/ IN10/ 15.79%
• E9/ Hackney, London/ 51 +/ Male/ IN10/ 14.39%
• B7/ Nechells, Birmingham/ 51 +/ Male/ IN10/ 14.29%
• LU5/ Dunstable, Bedfordshire/ 22 – 25/ Female/ IN10/ 12.84%
• HR6/ Leominster/ 22 – 25/ Male/ IN10/ 12.45%
• W11/ Notting Hill, London/ 31 – 40/ Male/ IN10/ 12.37%

The Economy

The economy grew by 0.1% in the last quarter of 2009, bringing to an official end the longest recession since records began in 1955, but this in not something that we should get too excited about – either way. On the one hand, people are disappointed that the growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was only a tenth of one percent – a quarter of the level expected by many commentators. On the other, there was relief that we are at least back in positive territory now.
The reason for a degree of optimism for those who were disappointed is that the Office for National Statistics has a habit of reassessing the figures as it goes and in both the second and third quarters of 2009, the revisions were upwards – mind you, for the four preceding quarters, the revisions were downwards, but that was simply following the trend; since we are now moving upwards, we can be (reasonably) confident that the revisions will be positive. If not, the next general election could be even more interesting!
The potential fly in the ointment, however, is that there were special circumstances that may have increased consumer spending in the final months of last year, especially the impending VAT rise on 1st January and deep discounting by retailers, both of which will have added to GDP growth. Equally, with an eye to the first three months of this year, the VAT increase may have an impact on manufacturing and sales and the bad weather we have experienced will have slowed retail spending – although it will also have increased expenditure on heating. Mind you, according to the Centre
for Economics and Business Research, the extreme winter of 1962/3 may have reduced manufacturing output by 7% in February, but there was actually no overall impact on GPD due to increased spending in other areas.

Welcome to our First Newsletter

Spring Newsletter 2010.

GSI are pleased to announce  a new service we are providing to our customers. Our first attempt will largely focus on motor insurance, future editions will concentrate on other areas of interest.

We intend to send our customers, old and new, a periodical newsletter that will have:

• information about developments within our industry and issues that may affect them
• news about products we offer that may be of interest to them
• details of special offers
• Recommendations as to how to reduce Insurance costs
• Light hearted articles about our experiences,and those of others, in dealing with Insurance matters over the last 30 years

We trust you will find the topics both interesting and informative. If you are sufficiently interested in any product article please do not hesitate to phone us on 01474 359117 or respond via our website with the suitable links

Hopefully you will enjoy receiving these newsletters, which will also give you the opportunity to add your own comments, but in the event you do not wish to be included in future  mailshots please unsubscribe in the usual way.

Geoff Simmons