According to research from Britannia Rescue a staggering five million British Drivers are currently driving unsafe vehicles. To put this into perspective, this is around one quarter of all motorists. One possible explanation for this is the theory that motorists are holding onto older vehicles longer in order to benefit from the Governments scrappage scheme. In addition, 1 in 5 of the drivers surveyed is actually aware of the state of their vehicles.

Britannia Rescue who owned by LV car insurance have identified that worn tyres, defective car breaks, faulty exhausts, broken wing mirrors and front and rear lights are the most common issues. The reasons given for not repairing vehicles includes affordability or unable to spare the time to arrange repairs.

Unfortunately motorists do not realise that they are potentially invalidating their car insurance as it is condition that vehicles must be maintained. There are also strict laws governing the state of repairs and driving a faulty vehicle can result in 3 points added to a driving license in addition to a fine if caught.

The most alarming statistic of all is the fact that damaged cars were responsible for 1 in 30 fatal motoring crashes in 2008 and 2,500 accidents.

Following the partial collapse of the British car industry during this recession, second hand car values have fallen dramatically meaning the market value of your vehicle if its older than 1 year could be lower than you think.

As far as most insurance companies are concerned the market value of a vehicle is whatever a claims assessor thinks the vehicle is worth if it written off in an accident or stolen and never recovered. Therefore, in some cases car insurance claim payouts maybe less than the finance owed on the car or what was initially paid for the vehicle. This has led to the rise in recent years of gap insurance which covers the difference between what the car insurer values the vehicle at and what was paid out.

There are of course many different types of gap insurance products including Return to Value, Agreed value and so on. The message is clear, however, insurers ultimately decide what your vehicle is worth based on the market value. To determine what your car is worth, look up the value of your car is Glasses Guide or other publications. There are also plenty of online websites which also value your vehicle free of charge.

According to the latest research conducted by Admiral car insurance, young driver accidents are twice as likely to occur if 17 and 18 driving records are compared with 30 year olds.  More worryingly, the figures increase six fold if comparisons with drivers aged over 50 are made.

These figures don’t necessarily come as a big surprise to insurance companies, however, what is a bigger concern is the level of injuries sustained by young drivers compared to their more experienced counterparts. For example, accidents involving this age group are five times more likely to involve personal injury. Admiral’s explanation on this fact is that young drivers are more likely to suffer high speed crashes through inexperience and reckless driving caused by peer pressure showing off to friends. Sadly, there are also a higher proportion of fatalities amongst this age group.

Additional statistics that do not bode well include the likelihood that young motorists are also four times more likely to be convicted for careless driving that the average driver.

The end result of this carnage is both financial meaning heavy increases in car insurance for young drivers premiums for all motorists to cover the cost and human suffering which you cannot put a price on. Admiral, like other UK car insurers are actively seeking ways to improve the driving records of young motorists by sponsoring programs like the Young Driver scheme, which aims to provide additional education, and driving experience.

While Toyota embark on an epic safety recall programme for certain models of car, insurance companies have re-assured the customers affected that their policies will remain valid as long as they return their vehicle to a Toyota dealer for the necessary upgrade to be made. Owners of the specific models known to have had problems with the accelerator pedal will be contacted by Toyota by letter, but those who choose to ignore the recall may find their car insurance policy could be rendered invalid.

Toyota have increased their staffing levels and extended service centre opening hours to ensure those motorists involved are not expected to wait long, thereby causing unnecessary inconvenience or worry, and the upgrade itself is likely to be completed in around 30 minutes. Those targeted customers who have not actually experienced any problems are still advised to have the prescribed safety checks carried out, if only to guarantee peace of mind and prevent any relevant car insurance policy being placed in jeopardy.

Toyota are naturally keen to minimise the impact this safety issue is likely to have on future car sales by re-assuring potential customers that new cars are not affected, neither are used-cars purchased through official Toyota centres. And if you own a pre-2005 model you will not be required to return it as part of the recall programme, although it could follow that many Toyota owners will be seeking guidance and reassurance whether their car falls within the recall criteria or not.

If you’re expecting to compare car insurance quotes and find a huge increase in the price of cover for Toyota vehicles, it’s unlikely to happen in the near future, which is good news for anyone who is affected and whose policy is due for imminent renewal. But as car insurance premiums are based partly on claim rates it remains to be seen whether or not the cost of cover will rise significantly in the years to come, when it is as yet unknown how many – if any – claims will be made in respect of the identified Toyota problems.

With road maintenance being massively under-funded throughout much of the UK, car insurance quotes are set to escalate in response to the increasing number of claims arising from incidents involving potholes. Estimated at costing the nation’s motorists a whopping £320 million each year, potholes are an ongoing problem that is unlikely to ever be resolved, and as there are even more of them appearing since the recent cold snap, the chance of finding a cheap car insurance quote looks likely to remain slim for many years to come in the UK.

Quote comparisons will reflect the fact that Britain’s roads are gradually falling apart and the battle to prevent them deteriorating further is far from being won. Local authorities are paying out millions of pounds in compensation to the victims of potholes and therefore face increasing pressure to keep road surfaces in a satisfactory condition, the cost of which will inevitably be passed on in some way to both the driving and non-driving population of the UK. Car insurance quotes compare unfavourably to those offered a year ago, and even though increases to the cost of premiums is expected, cheap car cover will be hard to find as long as potholes litter the roads, pushing up the incidents of accidental damage.

Those driving along the same roads each day will become familiar with their local potholes, but extreme caution should still be employed until the necessary repairs have been made. Care should be taken to avoid potholes in the first place by allowing plenty of space for a clear view of the road ahead, and cyclists and motorcyclists should be given extra time and room in case they too need to take sudden evasive action. So for those who don’t want to see their next car insurance premium go through the roof, extra vigilance will be required on all UK roads for some time if you want to avoid a close encounter with a pothole!