Insurers say so many drivers have points that they are irrelevant

[garethr]

It seems that the "dangerous" speeding drivers don't actually have many accidents after all, or the insurers would be loading their premiums.

 

WHY SPEED POINTS ARE NOW POINTLESS

SPEED cameras have made penalty points irrelevant for car insurance, a leading company said yesterday.

Swinton announced that it will no longer automatically penalise drivers with six points on their licences. So many motorists have penalty points from speed cameras that even six points are “nothing out of the ordinary”, the firm said.

About two million drivers were fined a total of £130million from speed cameras last year. Swinton estimates that up to 10 million may have points on their licences now. Last year, the firm had a 12 per cent increase in the number of drivers with points looking for insurance. They have been caught by a network of more than 6,000 fixed and mobile cameras. The insurance firm has set up a dedicated unit, Swinton Specialist, to deal with rising demand. Its head, Neil Ackinclose, said: “A few years ago, insurers might have assumed that a motorist with six or more points was reckless. That is no longer necessarily the case.”  Another spokesman said points are “so commonplace, they have almost become pointless. This means premiums won’t necessarily increase for drivers with points.”

 

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/7217

[SMiFFAD]

Woohoo!

 

Now all they need to do is stop penalising drivers who have NON FAULT accidents

[AndyT]

Just corroborates our views that the cameras are revenue earners. Nice to see an insurance company doing something for the customer though.

[tbourner]

Bet they won't reduce my premiums for being clean for 8 years though.

[Bobbeh]

Its all a swizz

[Pete]

So how about they DECREASE them for people with no points eh?

Swinton are a rip off anyway.