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NEWS
Penalising the penitent
UK Insurers warned against higher premiums for drivers who have attended 'speed awareness' coursesA BBC documentary program has revealed that at least one motor vehicle insurer in Britain will increase premiums – the price payable for insurance – for drivers admitting they've attended a 'speed awareness' course.
The news has prompted GEM Motoring Assist, a road safety organisation and breakdown cover company, to issue a press release denouncing the move and expressing concern that other insurance companies might follow the example.
“Speed awareness courses are a great tool for encouraging drivers to address their mistakes and ensure they are not repeated,” said David Williams, CEO of GEM. “It is a really good opportunity for them to willingly gain positive road safety advice and also avoid some of the costly consequences that may have been caused by a fleeting misjudgement.
In Britain, drivers who have been observed breaking speed limits can opt to undertake a 'speed awareness' course, rather than paying a fine and copping demerit points. GEM is a supporter of the National Speed Awareness Scheme (NSAS) and notes that the take-up rate of attendees for courses in West Sussex alone has increased four-fold in the space of two years – from 2750 in 2009 to 11,000 in 2011.
NSAS is the brainchild of police forces across the country and the speed awareness courses have been welcomed by those who have taken part, typically drivers who have exceeded the speed limits by "marginal amounts". Drivers attending are usually those guilty of a genuine mistake – one such driver being an elderly man on the trip home from his brother's funeral. He admitted that his mind had been "elsewhere".
The aim of each course is to change drivers' attitudes and behaviours, rather than prosecuting them for speeds like 36MPH (58km/h) in a 30MPH (48km/h) zone. Since drivers attending the courses escape demerit points on their licence, their insurance premiums are unaffected. But Admiral Insurance, as reported on the BBC program, '5 Live Investigates', is planning to introduce increased premiums because drivers attending the speed awareness courses allegedly pose a higher risk.
Due to the concept of 'material disclosure', the insurer is entitled to know whether the insured driver represents a higher risk. Speed awareness courses, however, excuse drivers from recorded demerit points that normally apply for speeding offences. The insurance company is attempting to make the re-education program a red flag for its underwriting procedures, in the absence of demerit points.
For the driver, it's damned if you do, damned if you don't. Attend the speed awareness course to avoid the fine – and the demerit points – and you still get slugged more for your insurance premiums.
If the insurance company has its way, and the driver doesn't admit to attending one of the courses, when renewing the insurance policy, the driver could be considered guilty of material non-disclosure. And that would ultimately leave the company free to deny any claim made against it by the insured – even in the instance the driver/insured is not liable for the damage. It's a ticking time bomb for policyholders who don't share the information with their insurer and could be very costly in the event of a total constructive loss.
Speeding convictions in Australia are not considered 'material' information for insurers unless drivers have their licences cancelled. Perhaps, with so many drivers getting around with speeding convictions on their records, disclosure of that would hardly be a 'material' factor in the company's acceptance of the risk.
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Written byCarsales Staff
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