Insurers face a generation of risky 'stop start drivers'

There are around 1.5m potentially hazardous young drivers, dubbed ‘stop start drivers', who pass their test but rarely get behind the wheel because of high insurance and car costs, an AXA personal lines study has revealed.

The ‘Stop Start Drivers’ drivers are aged 17 -29 who, having passed their tests, rarely get behind the wheel.

But when they do hit the road they are more likely to cause an accident (per hours spent on the road), have forgotten their highway code and have lost their confidence behind the wheel.

Research from AXA Personal Lines Insurance suggests that, after passing their tests, nearly one in five (17%) of today’s drivers aged between 17 and 29 will, at most, get behind the wheel only once or twice a month with around half of these driving even less than this – often with gaps of several years.

Additional research among UK insurance brokers appears to back up these findings with more than one in three finding that the average age for first time buyers of motor insurance has risen in the last five years as new drivers stay off the road.

When asked why they don’t drive regularly, the main reasons cited by Stop Start Drivers was the cost of buying and running a car and the cost of insurance.

Data from insurance brokers found that over eight in ten struggle to find insurance for younger drivers, and almost two thirds believe that premiums are currently too high for young drivers.

One in five brokers would turn a blind eye to ‘fronting’ which would enable a younger driver to be able to drive regularly.

Sarah Vaughan, motor director for AXA Personal Lines Insurance said: “Stop Start driving appears to be an increasing trend and one that adds to the issues with young drivers on our roads.

“We are currently working on a number of potential solutions for younger drivers, including looking at product features. It is a concern for the whole industry and one we believe has to be addressed as issues such as uninsured driving and fronting continue to increase.”