AXA to load policies based on penalty points

Borzoi

Listening to Morning Ireland this am, they carried a report saying that AXA insurance have announced that they will be loading policies of those caought speeding by €250 per time.

Now, I've checked AXA's web site but there's no mention.

The question then arises, if they load those speeding maniacs :rolleyes: will the rest of us slow grannies get a discount? I'm not holding my breath on this though.

Hellrazer

What I want to know is if they are going to reward "Good" drivers who have no penalty points by lowering their premium.

Or even if they are going to assume that if you have no penalty points then you are a safe driver.
I dont think so.As a matter of fact I cant even see premiums being lowered due to penalty points.

GoneShootin

i doubt those who get no points will see a reduction.

afaik

if you do get point, your premium goes up
if you dont, your premium stays the "standard" rate

MarkR

It may be worse than that, can't confirm this, got emailed this earlier on...


Road hogs hit by huge hike in insurance



MOTORISTS face a ?250 increase in insurance premiums every time they are
caught speeding under the penalty points system.


The country's biggest motor insurance company has decided to hit
motorists with a 25pc hike in their annual premium - every time they are
caught 20mph or more above the limit.


AXA, which has more than 400,000 drivers on its books, will impose the
loading from tomorrow, when the points system starts.


For every subsequent speeding offence the motorists will face another
25pc rise in their premium.


At the point where a driver would face losing the licence - 12 points
means a 6-month ban - the loading would have doubled the premium.


The draconian insurance move will send shock waves through motorists on
the eve of the introduction of the manual penalty points system for
speeding.


And other major car insurance companies are also planning cash penalties
for speeding motorists. John O'Neill, AXA chief executive, told the
Irish Independent last night they would be imposing the 25pc loading on
any driver caught doing 20 miles or more above the speed limit incurring
just two penalty points.


Mr O'Neill said that this would work out at an extra ?250 for the
average policy holder with a premium costing ?1,000.


He said drivers who notch up more penalty points and speeding offences
will face rolling increases on their premium. Two speeding tickets and
the motorists would be hit with a 50pc loading.


Drivers renewing their policies will be asked if they have incurred
penalty points and may be asked to furnish details of the fines notice.


Mr O'Neill said: "There is no good talking about stopping speeding and
having very lurid ads on television unless you have draconian
enforcement and that means hitting them where it hurts - in their
pocket."


"It sounds tough but it comes against the backdrop of over 400 people
being killed and 12,000 seriously injured on Irish roads each year."


Transport Minister Seamus Brennan said yesterday he was examining ways
of making information on penalty points available to insurance companies
"in some format". The Irish Independent understands that this will
involve the insurance companies being able to identify repeat offender
drivers.


But it is also understood that the insurance companies will be expected
to reward drivers who have clean records with lower premiums.


A five-year Government plan to bring down road deaths by 20pc, saving
172 lives annually, has failed, its top level road safety group reported
yesterday.


If current trends continue it is likely that the number of people killed
on Irish roads this year will exceed last year's toll.


Had the 20pc target been met over the 1998-2002 period a total of 172
lives would have been saved this year alone, according to the report.


Drink driving is as bad as ever, drugs driving is a major new problem
and young males continue to account for most fatalities and motorcycle
deaths are soaring, it reveals.


The minister said he was "extremely concerned" that the rate of road
deaths remained at a level significantly higher than had been hoped for.


Mr Brennan said that over 4,500 people had been "slaughtered" on Irish
roads over the past 10 years.


"We cannot look forward to another 4,500 people being wiped out over the
next 10 years. That is unthinkable," he added.


After a meeting with the leaders of the Garda Representative Association
yesterday, the Garda authorities repeated their promise that the
operation of the penalty points system would be reviewed in February.


According to Garda Representative sources, official circulars on how to
implement the new system were only sent out to members of the force
yesterday.


And books of notices to be handed out to errant motorists have yet to be
distributed to gardai.


Treacy Hogan Environment Correspondent

ando

For every subsequent speeding offence the motorists will face another
25pc rise in their premium.

:eek:

ando

*speechless*

:eek:

:eek:

Gerry

There are 2 reasons for our high insurance premiums.

1. Ireland is a nation of brutal, ****e drivers. With no compulsory training, just a driving test which is more like an audition for a part in a play, this is no surprise.

2. Accident claims are at a ridiculous level, because people claim what they want and get away with it.

Yet the government and many others believe that speeding is the main cause, and money is thrown at this, instead of driver training, and restricting claims.
Speeding in itself is not bad, however if the driver is incompetent, they shouldn't be driving at a speed they can't handle. Drivers do not know their own limits or those of the car, and with no training they haven't a clue what to do to avoid accidents.

A much greater problem is that a competent driver may be speeding, and then some idiot does something stupid in front of them. Most people would say that the speeding person is the idiot, but if incompetent drivers were not allowed on the road we wouldn't have this problem.

I think a petition to the government to divert money from traffic cops into driver training would be a good idea, I wonder how many would agree.

Hellrazer

Originally posted by Gerry

I think a petition to the government to divert money from traffic cops into driver training would be a good idea, I wonder how many would agree.

Couldnt agree more!!!!!!
.Just because you drive "By the Book" for 20 minutes in your life time it means you are a competent driver.
I dont think so.
How many people still drive the way they did when they took their driving test.
I for one certainly dont.But I`d still consider my self an okay driver.
The whole driving test thing should be overhauled and a more realistic test brought in.
As for the driving on a provisional licence-Dont get me started on that.I drove myself on a provisional but it doesnt mean its right.Apparently Ireland is the only country in the world where you can drive unaccompanied as a learner driver.Typical Irish solution to an Irish problem.

MarkR

Anyone get awarded (is that really the right word )some penalty points yet?

yop

ANOTHER leading insurance company is to increase motor premiums for repeat penalty-points offenders - but has said it will reduce them for "clean slate" drivers.


Hibernian, which insures 450,000 motorists, will raise the price of its policies for customers who incur six or more penalty points for speeding, the Irish Independent learnt yesterday.


This means anyone clocking up three speeding fines will be hit with higher motoring costs.


The news follows an announcement by AXA Insurance that it will charge motorists an extra 25pc if they are caught exceeding a speed limit by 20mph or more. It said the loading would apply even for first-time offences.


Gary Owens, managing director of Hibernian Insurance, told the Irish Independent that the company would wait to see the effect of the penalty-points system before deciding the size of its loadings and discounts.


Mr Owens said it would avoid a "knee-jerk reaction", examining the frequency of speeding convictions and accidents, and watching for a drop in claims over the next few months.


He said it would not be increasing premiums for drivers who attracted up to four points but would be penalising drivers with six or eight points, as they posed an increased risk.


He stressed that any increases for repeat offenders would have to be matched by discounts for law-abiding drivers with no points.


Very few of the 365,000 speeding fines are disclosed to insurers by policyholders, according to Mr Owens, who said the industry wanted to see what system would be put in place to provide insurers with information about penalty-points offenders.


The insurance chief said it was hard for the industry to monitor speeding offences and that their disclosure depended on the honesty of customers.


Mr Owens said the points system was a positive development, however, and should reduce both accidents and premiums.


Fine Gael enterprise spokesman Phil Hogan yesterday criticised the decision by Transport Minister Seamus Brennan to enable insurance companies to identify repeat-offender drivers.


He said motorists faced a deliberate rise in insurance premiums because the minister wanted to give insurers full details of drivers' records even though a minor infringement could mean a penalty of two points.


"It is not acceptable that any information relating to minor misdemeanours should be grabbed as another opportunity by insurance companies to hike up costs and premia," he said.


The Irish Insurance Federation said it was "encouraged" that Mr Brennan was considering making the information contained in the National Drivers File available to insurers.


The minister has indicated that any information provided should lead to reduced premiums for law-abiding drivers.


Fine Gael transport spokesman Denis Naughten warned yesterday that thousands of speed-limit signs that had been damaged or destroyed but not replaced would cause drivers to inadvertently break the law.


"Furthermore, signs blocked by overgrown hedges, signs located on bends or where there is poor visibility may cause drivers to miss the sign altogether," he said. "It is common to see speed-limit signs buried among an array of signs coming into our bigger cities, which can confuse drivers."


Mr Naughten called on the minister to provide funding for local authorities to review the design, location and maintenance of signs.

seamus

Nice to see an insurance co. at least *saying* that it'll reduce premiums. Or course, Hibernian will only insure people who's mother's granny drove a car for at least 40 years without ever even breaking a red light, and people who'll swear an affidavit that if they crash, Hibernian don't have to pay a penny, the premium is just the cost of the insurance cert*



*May or may not be true

s10

they should use the money to erect metal shapped people along the side of the road , where people have died in road deaths .
like in France . works for me ,special @ nite when you think its a real person
black spot my ass ..
give the knack s something to play with on the way home from the pub to

how many people have died under that bridge @ ucd ?????????
not thrown themselves off .. accidents like .,.

does anyone know of any usual garda speed trap
that actually is a death / car crash infested road

just finding places out of the rain/wind
with high profit , low danger risk ,


ignorance is not an excuse in the eyes of the law thats why my area has been replaced with 50 mph stickers on all road signs
not by me of course , i only noticed cause im very observant


:rolleyes: