‘Debt concerns exacerbated’ through motor insurance cheats

Motor insurance cheats are helping to pile on debt woe for people in Britain, a new study has suggested.

Carried out by The Co-operative Insurance, the research indicated law-abiding drivers are footing the bill for fraudulent motorists for one day out of every week.

The practice is costing individuals in the UK a combined total of £1.25 billion every year.

It was discovered each driver has to fork out around £50 on every policy in an attempt to counter dishonest claims and those filed for accidents caused by people taking to the road without insurance.

It is the equivalent of 52 days cover under an annual policy and the organisation noted more than 23,000 individuals are killed or injured by uninsured motorists every 12 months.

Moreover, almost one-in-four (23 per cent) of those quizzed confessed to having being behind the wheel in an illegal manner in the past year.

This included driving without insurance, an MOT or a license.

The Co-operative Insurance warned UK residents they face a £200 fixed penalty notice and six penalty points on their license if they are caught driving without insurance.

Tim Franklin, chief operating officer at The Co-operative Financial Services, said: “Millions of people are deliberately flouting the law by not insuring their cars at massive cost to honest road users and the wider insurance industry posing an unnecessary and unjustified risk.”

Aviva recently advised bicycle owners to be careful with their two-wheelers.

The organisation carried out a survey of more than 2,000 cyclists and discovered around one-third of them have had their vehicles stolen at one time or another.

By Joe Shervin