Casualties Among Young Drivers - An Alternative View

Online, September 24, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Commenting on the recent research highlighted by Cardiff University about young drivers and road accidents Mark Grant, Business Development Manager at insurethebox comments;

"It is our view that recent proposals to ban newly qualified young drivers from night-time motoring and carrying passengers of a similar age misses the point. The UK market is very different - legislation that reduces casualties in some other countries may not be viable or necessary in the UK. The focus, in our view, should be on education rather than penalties".

insurethebox specialises in providing car insurance to young drivers and has innovative ways to incentivise good driving, including extra miles as a reward for responsible motoring.

"Any parent whose teenage child has just passed their driving test will know the anxiety they feel whenever their son or daughter takes the car out, especially at night," says Grant.
"A seventeen year old man is 17 times the insurance risk of a 45-year-old, since they have more accidents with a significantly higher cost of claims. By encouraging good behaviour we can't promise to make him or her drive like a middle aged person, but if we can just make a seventeen year old lad behave like an 18-year-old then we are reducing the risk of an accident by 40%."
In addition, the box alerts the insurethebox service centre whenever there has been an incident recording a g-force of 2.5 or more, indicating that it might be an accident. The insurethebox service centre will then contact the customer and organise help if needed.
Where the box registers a g-force of 8 or more, and serious injury is likely, emergency services may be called to attend the location in cases where the customer cannot be contacted.

"insurethebox is one of the most innovative car insurance propositions we have seen for a long time. The industry has been crying out for a new concept that really works and while 'ClearBox' technology certainly isn't new, insurethebox is more sophisticated in its design, making it a more sustainable scheme. It caters for low-mileage drivers by only charging them for the miles they drive, which is a great way to keep costs down. Similarly, it will suit younger drivers who struggle to find competitive insurance quotes. For parents, who often pay for their children's car insurance, insurethebox will also relieve their concerns as they will be able to keep an eye on where their children are driving and how safely too," said Steve Sweeney of moneysupermarket.com.
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For further information, contact: Parm Evans (InsuretheBox), 05603 128853 or 07501 462045, parm.evans@btinternet.com Mark Baylis, 023 8065 1473, 07775 693994, mark.baylis@insurethebox.com
Note to editors: insurethebox's joint chief executives are Mike Brockman and Andy Haynes. Brockman was a co-founder of EMB in 1993, which has grown to become the world's largest non-life actuarial consultancy and has won two Queen's awards for Enterprise. Andy Haynes is a highly experienced insurance professional who has specialised in private car insurance throughout his career. His most recent position was as Group Chief Executive of Guardian Holdings Limited (Europe).
Although other insurers have operated on a mileage basis, insurethebox is thought to be the first in the world to do so for all its customers and to positively incentivise good driving.
The boxes are supplied by Octo Telematics SpA, the world leader in the application of telematics to the insurance industry. Founded in Rome in 2002, it has over 90% share of the automotive insurance telematics market in Europe, USA, South America and Asia. www.octotelematics.com