Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with car insurance providers on the cost of insurance for young drivers.

Department for Transport officials regularly liaise with representatives of the motor insurance industry on a variety of issues such as the cost of insurance. However, it is the responsibility of individual motor insurers to set premiums and the terms and conditions of their policies, and the Government does not intervene or seek to control the market.

The Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority rules.

There is evidence to suggest that younger drivers and those with less experience carry a higher risk.  Some insurers have introduced the use of telematics or in-car black boxes to allow better risk-based pricing of insurance, especially for new drivers.  It means insurers now have a real time data feed, which allows them to see an individual’s driving behaviour; this had not been possible in the past. This can help reduce insurance premiums if drivers show good driving behaviour with a black box installed in their cars.