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Penalty point effect revealed by online car insurance companies
Several online car insurance companies have revealed how they calculate motor insurance premiums for drivers with penalty points.
The cheap motor insurance companies Norwich Union, Direct Line and swiftcover.com have all commented on how penalty points affect the cost of a car insurance quote.
Brian Bridges of Norwich Union is quick to point out that there is no set percentage increase when a driver gets penalty points but in fact there are many factors taken into account when calculating his car insurance premium.
He commented: "We operate on the basis of a matrix which takes into account a wide variety of factors, including age, the type of conviction, the age of the conviction itself and so on.
"The load will kick in quicker for younger drivers, a higher frequency of severity of conviction, because we will be considering that person is displaying wrong characteristics that will lead to a claim occurring in the future."
The online car insurance firm swiftcover.com says that the severity of the conviction is an overriding factor in deciding how much a motor insurance quote will be.
A spokesman for the company said: "Speeding convictions tend to be in the minor category. In contrast, drink-driving and careless driving are treated much more strictly and most insurers will throw the book at you."
Motor insurance provider Direct Line agreed, saying that whilst a speeding conviction will be taken into account, they do treat drink-driving convictions much more seriously.
A spokeswoman for the company also highlighted the importance of taking into account the time frame in which the convictions were gained. She cited a £27.30 difference between a policy for someone who had gained three speeding convictions within a year and someone with three speeding convictions gained at a rate of one per year.
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