Speed camera drivers' £1,500 bill

13 April 2012

BEING caught by speed cameras could cost up to £1,500 in insurance premiums, a report has revealed.

Penalty points on a licence are seized upon by insurers, who are expected to make an extra £400m from drivers who get caught this year alone.

The report shows that being snapped by the cameras means far more than three points and a £60 fine. The 'double whammy' comes when drivers have to tell insurance firms of any speeding offences during the last five years.

Three points on a licence will mean the driver having to pay an average £196 'risk levy' over the five years on top of normal premiums. Motorists with six points will pay £512.85 extra, while those with nine points a staggering £1,419.40.

The extra 'stealth' costs were found by Cyclops, which makes in-car speed camera detectors. The devices are legal because they alert drivers to the presence of cameras which - ministers and police insist - are safety measures to save lives, not raise money.

A Cyclops spokesman said: 'Insurance premiums provide another sting in the tail of a speed camera endorsement. Until recently most insurers ignored one speeding conviction, classing them as minor infringements.' But following the speeding crackdown, he said, many insurers have started acting upon drivers who receive just one conviction.

The spokesman said getting three penalty points means an increase of 7% to 13% on normal premiums. Six points means 20% to 30%, and nine points 50% to 80% or more.

Cyclops said the trend may cause drivers to keep quiet about convictions, making their policy invalid.

More than two million drivers are expected to be caught this year by one of the UK's 5,000-plus speed cameras. In 1996, only 262,200 received an endorsement.

Cyclops calculates that the number of cameras has gone up by 22% since last October.

Last week, a survey by the RAC Foundation and Autocar magazine found that one in six drivers now have speeding points, compared to one in 10 five years ago.

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