Sporty cars hike premiums

Young driver “Boy Racers” who modify their cars can add as much as £6,225 to their insurance premiums, uSwitch.com has claimed

It found:

• Go-fast extras add an average of £2,682
• A spoiler hikes the premium by almost £700
• A young driver's car insurance could cost up to 223%of the value of the car
• Adding GTI to a Peugeot 206 could push the cost of insurance up by £6,485
• 17-21 year olds represent just 7% of all drivers but they pay 32% of UK annual car insurance bill
• The average car insurance premium for a young driver is £1,730 - more than three times the national average premium of £512
• Insurance premiums fall by an average of £4,002 between the ages of 17 and 27
• All drivers have seen their car insurance premiums rise by almost 10% in the last 12 months.

Mark Monteiro, insurance expert at uSwitch.com, said: "The Equality Bill has been designed to bring an end to age and gender discrimination across industries and places of work, as well as introduce more transparency. If the Bill becomes law, the motor insurance industry will only be able to lawfully impose higher premiums for young drivers if based on published actuarial and statistical data.”