MP launches online petition to get cheaper car cover for young

David Ward is campaigning against rising motor insurance premiums after a 20-year-old driver in his constituency was quoted more than £50,000 for cover.

The Liberal Democrat MP for Bradford East, where premiums are among the highest in the country, has already tabled a motion to raise the issue in the House of Commons.

Now he wants others to join the campaign by signing an online petition for more affordable cover, tougher policing of uninsured drivers and tighter regulations on claims companies.

The petition, which had attracted more than 150 signatures by yesterday afternoon, will be presented to the Department for Transport.

Mr Ward said he had even learned of cases where motorists had struggled to find insurance despite having gone 30 years without making a claim.

Responsible drivers had seen their premiums “going through the roof” simply because they have a Bradford postcode, he added.

“My mail bag and inbox have been inundated with messages from constituents who are angry about this issue,” Mr Ward said. “When responsible drivers are being forced off the road by the cost of insuring their cars the Government has to do something.

“I’m asking everyone affected by this issue across the country to sign the online petition to help me pressure the Government into tackling the problem.”

Mr Ward has called on Ministers to ban insurance companies selling drivers’ details to personal injury lawyers. Such referral fees can push up premiums.

“There are things that can, and should, be done to bring premiums down,” Mr Ward said, “things like banning referral fees and imposing tougher punishments on uninsured drivers, but the political will has to be found.

“If everyone who cares about this issue signs the petition, the Government will be forced to act.”

Mr Ward was contacted by one of his constituents, Leah Greaves, who has failed to find an affordable insurer since she passed her driving test more than three months ago.

Miss Greaves said she despaired of ever being able to afford a car after she was quoted £53,000 for cover by one company. She said she had been forced to walk or catch buses because the lowest quotation she had received was £4,000 and out of her price range.

Earlier this year, a cross-party panel of MPs reported that a rising number of false car accident claims had contributed to premiums increasing by as much as 30 per cent.

The Commons Transport Committee had heard evidence from police that staged accidents, in which drivers deliberately crashed to claim payouts, were becoming increasingly common.

Yorkshire has long been considered one of the UK’s cash-for-crash hot spots, with Bradford being named the worst city for scams in a 2009 survey.

Huddersfield, Halifax and Leeds also featured in a list of the country’s top 20 towns and cities for fraudulent claims.

Mr Ward’s petition – which can be found at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/354 – has been welcomed by the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

An ABI spokesman said: “Motor insurance premiums are calculated by risk. Sadly, young drivers are 10 times more likely to be killed or seriously hurt on the road. The best way to reduce their insurance premiums is to make them safer drivers.

“That’s why we want the Government to change the way people learn to drive, through a graduated licence scheme, where people get to drive at night or in different conditions to make sure when they get behind the wheel on their own they are safe and confident.”

The spokesman added that some insurers had begun offering cheaper premiums to motorists who took action such as putting black boxes in their cars to measure speed.

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