Major insurers have moved to dispel suggestions that premiums for drivers with multiple points on their licence could be set to plummet.
This week broker giant Swinton said that drivers were being penalised unfairly by insurers and had lowered its rates as a result. It suggested that others in the motor market would follow suit.
But major insurers contacted by Insurance Times insisted that the market, already fiercely competitive, would not shift.
Under a new scheme, backed by several of Swinton’s panel of 14 insurers, premiums could fall to just £332 for a driver with nine points on his licence.
The move follows record numbers of convictions for speeding offences. Six million, or 16% of all motorists in the UK have points on their licences.
Neil Ackinclose, head of Swinton Specialist, said: “Our aim is to make the product available to every sector of the market.”
He added: “We believe that other insurers will consider their position on points.”
But despite Swinton’s claims that its revised policies “reflected a change in attitude by the insurance industry”, insurers, including Zurich, RBS and Norwich Union, have been quick to distance themselves from the move.
They emphasise that they already take into account that rising convictions are the result of more speed cameras, not more reckless driving.
“When calculating premium, the frequency of offence is as important as the total number of points accrued,” said Nigel Bartram, head of motor underwriting at Norwich Union.
He added that any move-ment in motor premiums would always be slight.
