Car Insurance: Young People

Calum Kerr Excerpts

Monday 20th March 2017 Westminster Hall

[Calum Kerr (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger, and to speak in this debate. Members have already made excellent contributions, and I feel like I am stepping into an expert field, given that there are so many people present who work on established Committees that have looked at this issue in detail. I shall focus first on the importance of this issue in rural areas, which has been well covered, and then give a specific example from my own constituency of a fantastic initiative that Governments could learn from.

The rural aspect of this issue is particularly important. As we have heard from most Members, we live in beautiful constituencies. It is good that we have not all tried to claim that ours is the most beautiful, as often happens when we talk about—[Interruption.] There we go—“It’s mine!”; “Mine!”; “I’m Spartacus!” Apologies, Sir Roger, for starting that and for any claims that may follow, but the most beautiful is clearly mine.

The very beauty of the geography presents several challenges. If someone in a rural area gets a job, a training opportunity or whatever positive outcome young people now seek after school, it is more likely to involve travel over a longer distance, and those areas generally struggle when it comes to public transport, so having a car is more of a necessity than ever. With that comes an increased danger. People can come and drive in my beautiful constituency, but good luck in getting up to certain speeds. Young people in particular are getting themselves killed or injured because suddenly there are open roads in front of them. There is a particular threat associated with the beautiful geography we all so enjoy. When it comes to accessing a car at a reasonable price, because of the cost of insurance, more and more people are having to buy very poor quality cars, as all the money goes on insurance. Therefore, when they have an accident, they are more vulnerable than they might have been, had the cost of insurance allowed more of their investment in driving to go into the vehicle rather than to the insurers.

That is the backdrop. The road death and casualty figures are depressing and stark, as is the detail behind them and how many of those impacted are young people who have suddenly learned to pass the test. I remember a scare I had as a young driver, let out for one of the first times in my mum’s Citroën AX, going across the hill road between Innerleithen and Heriot, thinking I could now drive, when of course I was still learning—we are all still learning. I nearly came off at a corner because of my inexperience. I got lucky: it was luck that saved me from being part of a statistic. Young, inexperienced drivers and open roads are a dangerous combination. This is an area where Government must be proactive in seeking solutions. It is great to hear some of the suggestions that have come forward today.

Let me turn to a specific area in my constituency. On Saturday 21 May last year, I was invited to attend a young drivers event at Charterhall near Duns. I went along, as we do—“That looks interesting; yes, I’ll happily go and do that”—and found a phenomenal set-up, where the police, working with local car dealerships and the Institute of Advanced Motorists, were taking out young drivers from the age of 14. I will say a bit more about that, but what drove them to do that was the loss of life: how do we stop young people getting in a car, thinking—as I did—that they can drive and then putting themselves and others at risk? One way is to try to demystify driving to some extent, by starting people younger.

These were young drivers, aged 14 and up, being put in a car with a highly qualified instructor to learn in an off-road environment—it was on private land—on a day’s course. I was so enthused by this, and the next day they said, “How old are your kids, Calum?” and I said, “My eldest, Eleanor, is 14.” “Why don’t you bring her tomorrow?” I thought, “Oh, I don’t know if Eleanor will do that. Is that cool? Her dad’s an MP; it’s quite a daunting thing if you’re 14. She might think, ‘Do I really want to go and try that? I can’t learn until I’m 17 anyway’.” But, fair play, Eleanor said, “I’d love to do that.” We came back and spent the whole Sunday there, and at the end of the day, she drove me—still with the instructor—around this disused road.

We usually get lots of declarations of interest from people who are farmers, and many farmers will know—we are talking about a moveable object on private land—how young or old they were when they first started helping around the farm, but what a fantastic idea: start people experiencing driving early, so that once they are 17 and get their provisional and then sit and pass their test, it is not as big a deal. They do not feel the need to go on a road and hammer it or show off in front of their friends; they have de-risked it.

I saw that project in action, and my daughter Eleanor, who is now 15, experienced it. What a fantastic initiative. Since then I have been working with the key people involved. I want to mention them, first because the Government may want to reach out and have a look at what they are doing, but they also deserve phenomenal credit. Andy McLean, the local area commander for the police in the Scottish borders, is a driving force for it. The police see added benefits, because suddenly they are working with and sitting alongside a young person in a car, not trying to catch them out. Local bobbies on the beat are not quite as prevalent as they once were, so the scheme enables them to build relationships and trust in a different way. However, the programme could not happen without the support of a certain John Cleland. I do know if any hon. Members know John Cleland, but they should google him and look at what a phenomenal driver he was, and still is. He was a British touring car championship winner twice—and he was robbed a third time, as he says; there are fantastic videos on that.

John has put a lot of personal effort and even money into getting the programme up and running, working with the Institute of Advanced Motorists. The next step was to apply for funding through Transport Scotland—there is a devolved powers element involved—and we are now taking that initial piece of work and building it into a broader programme. The Scottish Qualifications Authority is looking at putting together a package for schools, and headteachers in the borders have been approached to ensure that there is time in the curriculum for young people to come and do that. In the months ahead—the next session is in April—young people from across the borders will come again to Charterhall. Volvo is stepping up, with fantastic sponsorship in terms of cars, but the money from Transport Scotland was critical. We are trying to take what is clearly a fantastic idea and put it into something more credible and bigger.

I commend the programme to the Government and hon. Friends and Members, who should look at such a programme, because it is exactly the type of thing that all Members have referenced. How do we make driving safer? If we make it safer, premiums will come down—and, above all, we will save lives, which is what it is all about. I would be happy to provide the Minister with more details and to invite Ministers to visit—the Scottish Transport Minister will be coming to one of the upcoming sessions. If we can make some headway, the scheme can be replicated, and it absolutely will make a difference.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Jones]

Not right now, but who knows where the future will take us? We have some idea, but the detail will still need to be filled in. Opportunities will certainly arise and that may well be one of them.

I want us to get to the point where individuals are assessed according to their risk and where the Government do all we can to de-risk driving and incentivise safe driving. Motor insurers use a wide range of criteria to assess the potential risk associated with a quotation, including the age and driving experience of the applicant, the type of vehicle and where it is kept. The level of premiums is a commercial matter for individual insurers, because they use their own funds to underwrite the policies they issue. It is critical that the insurance industry takes such decisions for itself; the Government should not seek to control that market. However, I confirm to all who signed the petition, and to Mr Parker, its originator, that I am extremely sympathetic to their point. I hope that the explanations of our actions that I have given demonstrate our commitment to making progress.

[Calum Kerr]

I realise that the Minister is probably reaching the end of his speech, but there is one thing that I would like to ask him. I do not doubt the sincerity of his desire to improve the situation. Does he see a role for the Government—I appreciate that it would not be his Department—in introducing more formal qualifications to the school curriculum that could help to improve skills and create the outcome that we all desire?

[Andrew Jones]

It is important to capture people young and to instil road savviness among younger people. The hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Stuart Blair Donaldson) mentioned doing his cycling proficiency test at primary school. That scheme is now called Bikeability—we have Bikeability Plus, too—and it is thriving. We have protected its budget throughout this Parliament because it plays a critical role. The education of younger people in this area is important in making progress.

We have had a very positive debate. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay for introducing it, and to all hon. Members for their contributions to our stimulating discussion. I recognise that the cost of car insurance is important to young people. We are tackling fraudulent whiplash claims and making our roads safer for all drivers, including younger drivers. The motor market, including the motor insurance market, is among the most competitive markets in the UK. I trust that the insurers themselves have strong incentives to innovate and to deliver products targeted at younger drivers at a price that they can afford.

We are not at all complacent about this. We will continue to look at what we can do to address the cost of car insurance for younger drivers head on. It is right to tackle the issue by reducing risk. The Government are doing what we can to help our younger people to get about and get on.