As car insurance costs surge 90% of young drivers believe the government should offer support

Trakm8, a leading supplier of connected car data and devices for UK insurers and brokers, Young Driver Awareness Campaign aims to highlight how increasing insurance costs are impacting their lives, careers, finances and independence, and to offer advice to help understand how to take control and even help reduce insurance costs.

As part of this campaign, Trakm8 commissioned a national young driver survey to gain insights into how these rising insurance costs are impacting young drivers and their lives.

The results showed that over half (55%) of drivers under 25 are struggling to afford to insure their vehicles and 90% believe the government should intervene to help make cover more affordable for young drivers in the UK.

One way the Government could intervene is to reduce the Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) on car insurance for young drivers. Currently, UK drivers pay either a standard rate of 12% or a higher rate of 20% of the total policy cost and with the average premium for 17 – 24 years olds at £2,041 this tax is costing young drivers between £244 – £408 a year.

Adam Gooch, MD of Insurance at Trakm8 said, “The revenue the Government makes from the IPT tax has increased hugely in the last few years with the 2022//23 figures showing revenues of £7.34 billion which was an 11% increase on the previous year and a huge jump from the £1.7 billion revenue in 2000/01.

It therefore seems a viable option that the government could intervene and help reduce the cost of cover for young drivers especially as so many are reliant on their vehicle for their education and careers.”

The Trakm8 Young Driver campaign offers a voice for young drivers in the UK and the campaign aims to partner with organisations to help educate young drivers to better understand the benefits of telematics and how driving safely can make driving more affordable. According to the survey, 86% of young drivers would now be willing to have their driving data monitored if it helped lower the cost of insurance.

Tramk8 offers an end-to-end telematics solution that incorporates a market-leading platform that utilises machine learning and AI technology with a UK-built range of award-winning hardware solutions.

This gives insurers access to a range of big data insights including our portfolio of connected vehicle services and data analytics to give them a detailed understanding of customer driving habits and vehicle health, so they can manage policies and risk profiles on an individual basis.