Speed awareness course can double your insurance premium

[h***@anony.net]

excerpt


I took a speed awareness course – and my car insurance doubled
Drivers might avoid penalty points on their licence but car premiums
could still leap


Driven up: Declen Patten's premium more than doubled after we was
caught speeding, despite his attendance at a safety course Photo:
know that speeding convictions can ramp up insurance premiums. But
opting for the alternative – a morning spent learning to drive more
safely – may also attract a financial penalty, it has emerged. The big
“switch-off” promised when the Coalition stopped funding cameras via
road safety grants never really happened, after local authorities and
the police found they were self-funding anyway, according to the RAC
and AA. There are still around 6,000 camera sites in the UK, according
to the m

Motoring organisations, with cameras shifted regularly between
locations, to outfox motorists and ensure no speed trap is ignored as
a dud. Drivers can also be caught by mobile cameras. Furthermore, some
local authorities and police forces, including big conurbations such
as West Midlands and Bristol City Council, are in the process of
switching cameras back on at sites that were previously put into
hibernation. Related Articles
Car insurance: the tricks to make you spend more 15 Sep 2014 Car
insurance postcode lottery: some pay £700 more 18 Aug 2014 Drivers
'pay £56 more' for car insurance 11 Oct 2014 'Blackbox' exposes
£54,000 whiplash lie 29 Apr 2014 A

spokesman for Bristol council said: “We don’t have a timescale as yet,
but we can confirm that Bristol will be switching fixed speed cameras
back on.” All of which must mean more fines for motorists. A first
speeding offence normally attracts a £100 penalty and three penalty
points on your licence. However the bigger pain hits when your
insurance renewal premium lands on the mat. Insurance brokers at the
AA believe a first offence might typically add about 10pc to premiums.
For example, a 40-year-old Ford Mondeo driver could expect to see his
premium increase by 9.3pc on average, after a first speeding
conviction, with some companies refusing to quote at all. This might
typically inflate the premium from £366 to £398. Younger drivers will
be penalised more severely. This financial pain comes on top of the
first rise in motor premiums for two years. The average price of cover
shot up by £6 to £531 over the three months to the end of September,
according to the AA’s insurance premium index. Nicki Parry, a
spokesman for the comparison website Moneysupermarket.com, agrees
speeding fines will cost motorists dearly. She said: “If you drive a
fast car they may not be prepared to insure you at all, even after a
first offence.”

One way to minimise premium hikes is to attend a speed awareness
course, increasingly offered to motorists as an alternative to going
to court. You have to pay for the course, which typically costs around
£100, the same as the fine, and your licence will not be endorsed.
Many drivers believe a course will also ease the insurance headache.
More drivers than ever are to be handed this “get out of jail free”
card, following changes to the profile of offenders offered speed
awareness. Whereas previously only those slightly over the speed limit
qualified, it will now been made available to those driving
significantly faster.

For example, a driver in a 20mph zone might be offered a speed
awareness course if he was driving up to 31mph, although at 35mph he
will always be prosecuted. Elsewhere, the course may be available to
those in a 30-mile zone driving up to 42mph (prosecution inevitable at
50mph); in a 40-mile zone up to 53mph (prosecution at 66mph); in a
50-mile zone up to 64mph (prosecution at 76mph); in a 60-mile zone up
to 75mph (prosecution at 86mph); and in a 70-limit up to 86mph
(prosecution inevitable at 96mph). However, while attending the course
can help mitigate premium pain, this may not always be the case.
Admiral is one insurer that openly admits it may still increase
premiums. An Admiral spokesman said: “We pride ourselves on very
accurately pricing the risk of every driver.

Going on a speed awareness course, in our view, doesn’t alter the fact
that you were caught speeding. We are perfectly entitled to price this
into the risk.” As the upward trajectory of premium prices takes off

[Mel Rowing]

Post by h***@anony.net
excerpt
I took a speed awareness course – and my car insurance doubled
Drivers might avoid penalty points on their licence but car premiums
could still leap

It didn't affect mine. There is not even a need to notify your company.

If you are eligible then you will be offered a course with your NIP.

Should you complete the course satisfactorily
(there is no test or examination) then your name will be placed on a
database held by the DVLA for three years. Should you be caught speeding
again during the 3 years you will not be offered another course.

otherwise your NIP will be allowed to lapse. There will be no summons,
no prosecution and, more to the point, no conviction. Were there a
conviction of course then that would be a matter of public record.

As it is details of the incident held by the police, the organisers of
the course and the DVLA are strictly confidential and so not available
to any other party. In effect the slate is wiped clean.

[R. Mark Clayton]

Usually insurers are not bothered by one or even two 'minor' speeding
"busts", however they do get exercised for prosecutions / FPN's for due
care, jumping lights and other offences more directly related to accident
risk.

Post by h***@anony.net
excerpt
I took a speed awareness course - and my car insurance doubled
Drivers might avoid penalty points on their licence but car premiums
could still leap
Driven up: Declen Patten's premium more than doubled after we was
know that speeding convictions can ramp up insurance premiums. But
opting for the alternative - a morning spent learning to drive more
safely - may also attract a financial penalty, it has emerged. The big
"switch-off" promised when the Coalition stopped funding cameras via
road safety grants never really happened, after local authorities and
the police found they were self-funding anyway, according to the RAC
and AA. There are still around 6,000 camera sites in the UK, according
to the m
Motoring organisations, with cameras shifted regularly between
locations, to outfox motorists and ensure no speed trap is ignored as
a dud. Drivers can also be caught by mobile cameras. Furthermore, some
local authorities and police forces, including big conurbations such
as West Midlands and Bristol City Council, are in the process of
switching cameras back on at sites that were previously put into
hibernation. Related Articles
Car insurance: the tricks to make you spend more 15 Sep 2014 Car
insurance postcode lottery: some pay £700 more 18 Aug 2014 Drivers
'pay £56 more' for car insurance 11 Oct 2014 'Blackbox' exposes
£54,000 whiplash lie 29 Apr 2014 A
spokesman for Bristol council said: "We don't have a timescale as yet,
but we can confirm that Bristol will be switching fixed speed cameras
back on." All of which must mean more fines for motorists. A first
speeding offence normally attracts a £100 penalty and three penalty
points on your licence. However the bigger pain hits when your
insurance renewal premium lands on the mat. Insurance brokers at the
AA believe a first offence might typically add about 10pc to premiums.
For example, a 40-year-old Ford Mondeo driver could expect to see his
premium increase by 9.3pc on average, after a first speeding
conviction, with some companies refusing to quote at all. This might
typically inflate the premium from £366 to £398. Younger drivers will
be penalised more severely. This financial pain comes on top of the
first rise in motor premiums for two years. The average price of cover
shot up by £6 to £531 over the three months to the end of September,
according to the AA's insurance premium index. Nicki Parry, a
spokesman for the comparison website Moneysupermarket.com, agrees
speeding fines will cost motorists dearly. She said: "If you drive a
fast car they may not be prepared to insure you at all, even after a
first offence."
One way to minimise premium hikes is to attend a speed awareness
course, increasingly offered to motorists as an alternative to going
to court. You have to pay for the course, which typically costs around
£100, the same as the fine, and your licence will not be endorsed.
Many drivers believe a course will also ease the insurance headache.
More drivers than ever are to be handed this "get out of jail free"
card, following changes to the profile of offenders offered speed
awareness. Whereas previously only those slightly over the speed limit
qualified, it will now been made available to those driving
significantly faster.
For example, a driver in a 20mph zone might be offered a speed
awareness course if he was driving up to 31mph, although at 35mph he
will always be prosecuted. Elsewhere, the course may be available to
those in a 30-mile zone driving up to 42mph (prosecution inevitable at
50mph); in a 40-mile zone up to 53mph (prosecution at 66mph); in a
50-mile zone up to 64mph (prosecution at 76mph); in a 60-mile zone up
to 75mph (prosecution at 86mph); and in a 70-limit up to 86mph
(prosecution inevitable at 96mph). However, while attending the course
can help mitigate premium pain, this may not always be the case.
Admiral is one insurer that openly admits it may still increase
premiums. An Admiral spokesman said: "We pride ourselves on very
accurately pricing the risk of every driver.
Going on a speed awareness course, in our view, doesn't alter the fact
that you were caught speeding. We are perfectly entitled to price this
into the risk." As the upward trajectory of premium prices takes off