“We risk an epidemic of uninsured younger motorists”

Published on behalf of Road Safety GB

The number of young motorists punished for driving without insurance more than doubled between 2021 and 2023, according to new statistics analysed by IAM RoadSmart.

Data gathered through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the DVLA reveals that in 2021, there were 2,902 IN10 endorsements added to licence holders aged 17-20 years. This increased to 5,486 in 2022 and reached 6,316 for 2023. 

An IN10 endorsement – the code used by the police for ‘using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks on a licence’ – will typically be added to a driver’s licence following an investigation by police forces, either after a camera detects an uninsured vehicle on the road or a driver is stopped by a police officer and reported.

For those aged 21-24, the picture is more mixed. While IN10 endorsements rose from 12,309 in 2021 to 13,138 in 2022, they fell to 11,103 in 2023.

IAM RoadSmart says these ‘hugely concerning’ figures coincide with a period of rapidly rising annual car insurance premiums. Average annual premiums increased by a quarter (25%) between 2022 and 2023.

Nicholas Lyes, IAM RoadSmart director of policy and standards, said: “It is legal requirement to have the correct insurance to drive, so it is deeply concerning to see a surge in young drivers breaking the law in this way. Unless there is intervention, we risk an epidemic of uninsured younger motorists taking to the roads.

“Sadly, this is likely a consequence of the soaring costs of insurance premiums over the last 18 months. For young drivers who have recently passed their test, the cost of learning to drive, getting a vehicle, taxing it and then insuring it is becoming an extremely costly process.

While the insurance sector believes we may now be over the worst of price increases, falling premiums will feel like a lifetime away for newly qualified drivers.”