Drink driving could double premium

If you drink and drive you could see your car insurance premium double in size or, even worse, you could become completely uninsurable. This was the blunt warning announced recently by Moneysupermarket.com after it carried out research into the effect that drink driving can have when it comes to purchasing insurance.

The police struggle in vain to stop people from driving whilst under the influence every holiday season. Unfortunately, some people still insist on drinking and driving no matter what the risks are to themselves and to others.

The research revealed that drivers who receive a drink-driving conviction could see their insurance rise by £278 per year from £300 to £578, thereby almost doubling in size.

The head of motor insurance at moneysupermarket.com, Steve Sweeney, said that as well as the doubling in the premium, any convicted motorist is likely to find themselves with the difficult task of trying to find a provider who is prepared to insure someone with a drink driving conviction.

It is hoped that warning people about the financial penalties they could face from drink driving will get more people to take care on the roads. This is a huge problem, bigger than many realise, and anything that can be done to reduce the drink driving rates is a good thing.

As well as the financial penalties when it comes to car insurance, drink drivers also face the threat of a £1,000 fine and a prison sentence if they are caught. With such deterrents, hopefully more people will start to get the idea over the festive season that they simply shouldn’t drink and drive.