Swinton gives penalty pointed drivers a break

Swinton, the largest high street insurance broker in the UK, has announced that it will approach drivers with six points or more on their license as “standard” candidates for motor insurance cover.

It is estimated that more than six million drivers have points on their license, and this revelation has prompted the insurance broker to re-evaluate the service that it offers to a growing proportion of British motorists.

In fact, Swinton believes that it is becoming increasingly rare to find motorists with a clean record, with cameras catching over two million speeders each year and recently implemented laws punishing people using a mobile phone whilst driving with an automatic three points.

During 2006, Swinton reported a 12 per cent increase in the number of drivers with blemished licenses applying for cover, moving to set up a dedicated unit to deal with rising demand in response.

A survey conducted by YouGov last year estimated that 16 per cent of all drivers on the road have points on their license, while some analysts believe that there could be as many as 10 million ‘pointed’ drivers. It is becoming expensive for car insurance providers to ignore this increasingly noticeable minority group.

“It’s the law that’s changed – not the public,” commented Patrick Smith, chief executive of Swinton. “People are no worse at driving now than they were ten years ago – in fact if anything, they’re safer now. But the person who has six points today is the same person who would have had three points five years ago and a clean license ten years ago.”

“It is important to mention that Swinton is not against speed cameras and we don’t condone reckless driving,” he quickly noted.

“We are just recognising that there are a large amount of people being prosecuted for traffic offences that wouldn’t have been ten years ago – and it’s our job to respond to this shift and accept that points alone can no longer be used as a yardstick for driver evaluation.”

Negative response

However, the new direction that Swinton is taking towards drivers with points on their license has not impressed everyone in the industry.

Responding to Swinton’s announcement, Debra Williams, managing director of UK insurance search-engine confused.com suggested that by downgrading its risk-rating for people with speeding convictions, it was attempting to ensure that its panel of insurers “play catch-up” with the rest of the industry.

“This is merely an attempt by Swinton to expand its book by cornering the market for drivers with speeding points,” she claimed.

An analysis conducted by confused.com indicated that Swinton was still not the cheapest provider for motorists with points on their license, even for those with as many as nine.

“Regardless of the cost of insurance, we urge drivers not to become complacent or view this as an opportunity to flout driving laws,” continued Ms Williams. “The more points you have, the fewer insurers are willing to provide cover – motorists with more than six points halve their choice of providers.

“Our advice remains, look beyond the marketing hype and always shop around for the best deal based on your individual circumstances – insurers typically review their prices on a daily basis.”