More should be done to 'incentivise' safer driving, says young people insurer Carrot

In September, telematics business Carrot Insurance participated in the House of Commons Transport Select Committee’s inquiry into the reasons why young drivers are at a higher risk of being involved in road traffic collisions.

For Norrie Erwin, the firm’s managing director, Carrot’s involvement emphasised its “intrinsic role in the younger driver market” and supported its position as “the champion for young drivers”.

“When somebody asks you for help and advice and assistance because they’re looking at certain areas, then we should certainly take that opportunity.”

Responding to why young and novice drivers are at a higher risk of being involved in road traffic accidents and what the government can do to reduce these risks, Carrot submitted that new drivers aged between 17 and 22 should be incentivised to have a telematics insurance policy for at least their first year on the road in order to instil and reinforce good driving habits.

Following this, novice drivers would then have the choice of whether to remain with a telematics-based policy, or whether to opt for a more traditional motor insurance product.

The chosen incentive for this approach, according to Carrot, should be a reduction or removal of insurance premium tax (IPT).

A proactive participant

Erwin added that it was important for Carrot to be involved in the inquiry, to demonstrate that the organisation is a “proactive participant rather than sitting back reactively”.

He explained: “We’d like to think we play quite a leading role, certainly an intrinsic role, in the younger driver market – that’s what Carrot does, that’s what we specialise in, it’s absolutely what our footprint is.

“You can either be quite passive around it and reactive, or you can try and take a footprint that takes a leading position and has a view on things and then promote that view, hopefully to raise awareness generally.

“There are some challenges for younger drivers generally, affordability being one of them. Access to insurance being another.

“We’re a well-established participant in [the younger driver] market, with a significant customer base, so I think it’s appropriate [that] when the government was asking for input, in general terms, that we actually took that opportunity to go forward. That was the rationale behind it really.”