Loading the risk? Insurance costs are often cited as a
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factor in the dearth of young drivers. But while some firms pay a hefty premium to insure young drivers, others don't seem to pay any extra Words: Robin Meczes
ARE YOUNG DRIVERS really more expensive to insure than older ones? The answer, it seems, depends on how big your fleet is. Enquiries by CM reveal that
while some firms do pay about three times the premium that applies to older drivers to take on the youngest ones, others pay no more at all — unless those young drivers subsequently have an atfault incident.
Quotes obtained from truck insurance broker Towergate Insurance (see box) demonstrate that the cost of insuring young drivers can be far greater than for older ones. Based on our criteria, we were quoted £4,293 to insure a single 4x2 tractive unit at 40-tonne GVVV with a 35-year-old driver, but £12,164 to insure the same vehicle for an 18-year-old. A quote for a fleet of five vehicles with five older drivers came
to just over £25,300, while the cost of insuring the same fleet with one 18-year-old driver on board came to more than £32,000.
These quotes apply to small fleets, where a no-claims-discount (NCD) type approach based on individual drivers and vehicles is taken. Larger fleets, where the insurance emphasis is on claims history, might face nothing more than an increase in the excesses applicable to any young drivers, confirmed Towergate — although this depends on the insurer.
Extra, extra? Excesses on such drivers would probably rise to two or three times the normal sum, said Ian Pitt, business manager in the commercial motor division at the broker, which might result in paying out between £2,000 and £3,000 in the event of an at-fault incident instead of just
£1,000. But if no such incident occurs, such fleets will pay no more for using young drivers, he said.
But are the extra costs (whether premium or excess) prohibitive enough to be choking the supply of new young drivers for the industry?
Road Haulage Association national chairman Peter Barber believes it is. "Nobody wants to risk their costs being higher if there are any problems," he said. Freight Transport Association chief executive Theo de Pencier agreed. "I think fleet managers are reluctant to recruit drivers in the first year or two after their test," he said. "You've got to be tough, well organised and have a good plan to be able to overcome [insurers'] objections and convince them not to load against younger drivers." •