Higher costs for drivers caught on phone
James Coney, Daily Mail 9 April 2008
Drivers convicted of using their mobile phone while at the wheel will see their insurance premiums hiked by a third.
Allianz Insurance has become the first company to upgrade the seriousness of this, so it is now treated the same as a careless driving offence.
Previously insurers had only dealt with this conviction as if it was a routine speeding conviction, which incurred three penalty points.
And many insurers could follow in the footsteps of Allianz, as they are forced to help the Government and police clamp down.
It has been illegal to use a mobile phone while driving since December 2003. But this hardly stopped the number of drivers prepared to break the law.
New legislation to increase the penalty for using a handheld mobile phone while driving came in to force in February. The original £30 fine was increased to £60 and drivers now get three points on their licence.
Allianz Insurance admitted it was a difficult decision to make but felt it was a responsible move to discourage dangerous driving.
Neil Walker, motor manager for Allianz, says: 'By increasing the premiums for drivers with mobile phone convictions we are reinforcing the fact that this is a dangerous and needless act.
'If you are convicted of using a mobile phone while driving not only do you face a fine and points on your licence, you will also suffer the added financial burden of increased car insurance.' An experiment by the Transport Research Laboratory found that drivers who used a mobile phone while at the wheel had less control over their speed and longer response times.
And while drunk drivers obviously drove worse than those under normal circumstances, they were better than those who used a mobile phone. The drivers in the experiment also reported that it was easier to drive drunk than to drive while using a mobile.
While using a hands-free mobile phone should make you exempt from the legislation, you can still be prosecuted if the police do not believe you have proper control of your vehicle.
According to the AA, the average motor insurance policy is £629. This means those convicted of driving while using a mobile phone face a hike in their premiums by a whopping £208 a year.
They could also find it harder to switch to a new insurer because the price of their quote might suddenly become more expensive.
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"And many insurers could follow in the footsteps of Allianz, as they are forced to help the Government and police clamp down."
I don't think so! The insurance companies are not "forced" to do anything by the Government. Is it now policy that you get fined/points for the offence and then penalised again, on Government instructions?
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 09/04/2008 at 21:48
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>>>you get fined/points for the offence and then penalised again<<<
I am under the impression that you *do* get penalised again even for a speeding offence. I have been told that when you report to the Insurer that you have got points on your licence, they increase your premium until such time as the points are removed.
Also, if you do not tell them and subsequently need to make a claim they decline to pay up because you did not tell them about a 'material change in your circumstances'.
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"I have been told that when you report to the Insurer that you have got points on your licence, they increase your premium until such time as the points are removed"
The one time I got 3 points, my insurers weren't interested when I called them.
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Neither was mine when SWMBO was rather rudely flashed at.
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>>>you get fined/points for the offence and then penalised again<<<
You're not being penalised. The insurance company is rightly rating you as someone at higher risk of being involved in a claim and is therefore charging you more.
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You are being penalised! Where is the proof that someone who has used a mobile phone illegally in the past is going to have an accident in the future? They are being charged extra because they did something in the past, for which they already paid the fine ie been penalised, and then they are being charged extra because they might have an accident. They don't bother raising premiums for speeding points because 10 million drivers have 3 points, (so I am told) and 3 points are as easy to get as a cold in December.
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 09/04/2008 at 22:43
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You are being penalised!
Yup. Good idea, too.
Where is the proof that someone who has used a mobile phone illegally in the past is going to have an accident in the future? They are being charged extra because they did something in the past
Same for many other offences - a prime example is the increased premuim paid by drivers convicted of driving "over the limit".
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Which limit? Speed or Drink? No - they are being charged extra because they might do something in the future. Being fined and having your insurance put up is 2 sums of money for one thing and that seems to me to be "penalising".
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Which limit? Speed or Drink?
Drink, obviously, from common usage (unless you live on a different planet).
No - they are being charged extra because they might do something in the future.
Yup.
Being fined and having your insurance put up is 2 sums of money for one thing and that seems to me to be "penalising".
I agree. Just the same as for people convicted of driving "over the limit", as I said. Do you disagree with increased premiums for them (amongs others), too, or is it just mobile 'phone users?
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Not all offences that lead to fines/points mean one's insurance premium is raised. I can see why it is increased for driving over the drink limit although I would have thought a year's ban and the associated inconvenience would make it unlikely that anyone would offend again. I don'tthink that there is real logic for raising the premium for a person who has been convicted of using a mobile phone on the move. If many insurance companies don't think 3 points for speeding is worth bothering about I can't understand the angst about mobile phones!
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Read your local paper;there will be plenty of people done for drink/driving for the second/third time.
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Some I agree, rural area and not much enforcement, but I would think that it was a very small %age of those with an previous conviction.
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Has anyone ever heard of the named insurance co?
I'm bored with the phone obsession can we come up with another reason to point the finger at the spawn of the devil.
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Has anyone ever heard of the named insurance co?
>>
www.allianz.co.uk/
"One of the largest general insurers in the UK. We are part of Allianz SE, one of the world's foremost financial services providers."
(profit was down last year - £197M)
Cornhill Direct is a trading name of Allianz Insurance plc
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The insurance company is rightly rating you as someone at higher risk of being involved in a claim and is therefore charging you more.
Good idea, too.
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I can't say this excites me at all. I've seen too many drivers weaving down the road while gassing on the phone, a worrying number of van and lorry drivers too.
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"Big insurance hike if caught using mobile phone"
Good! This is because people who ignore safetly advice (and moreover the law) are a greater risk. The whole car insurance iindustry is based upon records of such experience.
Too many people believe that this is a law that they can opt out of. Eventually the message will get through.
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Blatant Profiteering! Still it will keep the shareholders happy.
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Why? The evidence suggests that people continue to speed/drink/us mobiles whilst driving even when they've been done, so perhaps an extra "fine" by way of the ins premium might persuade a few more not to put the rest of us in danger?
Edited by b308 on 10/04/2008 at 13:16
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Not wanting to get told off in a public forum but I got "done" for using my mobile phone a while ago. 3 points, told the insurance company and they noted it but said there would be no extra charge. (Direct Line). I have since renewed and the policy was substantialy cheaper than the previous year, hopefully it will not change for the next one.
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I agree with this.
People using mobile phones whilst driving are a danger to other road users - simple.
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