What does the driver have to do?

Insurance companies have got statistical evidence going back decades which indicate to them the type of risk that each individual driver should represent; for instance the manager of a pop group is likely to attend lots of alcoholic receptions, be under pressure to get very quickly from one location to the next regardless of speed limits, and to suffer from overconfidence; he or she will pay vastly more than a local vicar who is much more likely to care about the welfare of other road users and probably won't have money to waste on burning petrol through excessive use of his throttle foot! As another example, a younger driver who has just passed a driving test is about five times more likely to have an accident during the first year of driving than a more experienced driver. A driver who lives in an inner city area is far more likely to have a car stolen or vandalised, let alone damaged in a road traffic accident, than one in a sleepy country village. This is why every insurance policy that you fill in well as a lot of questions about your address, age, occupation, driving experience, convictions, whether or not you have made claims, etc etc.

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You cannot do much about where you live or what sort of work you do but you can still alter the way that the insurance company looks at you. If you are a young driver you could consider taking a Pass Plus course; this is government approved training course which continues where the driving test left off and teaches you techniques for handling more dangerous, but common driving situations such as bad weather, motorway usage, country road, dual carriageway and busy urban driving. This may sound like an absolute pain in the proverbial; after all you've just passed your driving test so you're probably sick of taking lessons but not only could what you learn possibly save your life (and maybe even the lives of others) but it could save you a lot of money too; young people who have successfully completed a Pass Plus can get up to a third knocked off their insurance premiums, and that can add up to a very substantial amount of money indeed. Another way to impress the insurance company is to offer to pay a substantial excess in the event of a claim; insurers reckon that if you're all that money is at stake you are likely to be that little bit more careful! Thirdly, you may well get a good discount if you name an older and more experienced driver as the second driver on the policy (don't even think of doing it the opposite way round and having yourself named as a second driver; the insurers are wise to that particular trick) because they reckon that if an experienced person is keeping an eye on the car you may be encouraged to drive it in a more sensible manner. Finally make sure that the vehicle is always parked at the on your drive or preferably in a garage at night, never out on the road where it could be subject to theft or vandalism. Happy motoring!

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