Insurance policy offers bonus for car curfew

A CAR insurance company claims it has developed a policy that will not only save lives but also up to €1,000 for young motorists currently paying huge premiums.

XS Direct has launched Pumpkin, a high excess policy that it says will save younger drivers hundreds on their premiums, if they avoid driving between 10pm and 6am on Friday and Saturday nights — the most dangerous driving times.

The company said many younger drivers use their car mostly to commute and could avoid driving on weekend nights, so the policy rewards and incentivises these “safer” driving patterns.

“Each year hundreds of younger drivers are involved in accidents that Pumpkin will eliminate,” said Chris McCann, managing director of XS Direct.

“In 2006, drivers under 25 years accounted for 37% of fatalities and 25% of injuries but represented only 9% of all policyholders.

“Friday and Saturday nights account for almost 20% of these accidents; the real point however is the serious nature of these weekend night tragedies. It is these nighttime accidents that drive up the premiums paid by all younger drivers, regardless of their driving habits or when they drive. Pumpkin rewards safer driving among younger drivers.”

The company said that while the policy is intended to reduce driving on weekend nights, the driver can, if absolutely necessary, use the car on those nights, but will be charged an additional fee for doing so.

“In the event of the vehicle being driven more than 100 metres between 10pm and 6am on Friday and Saturday, a charge of €50 applies,” it said.

“To track time of usage Pumpkin uses an unobtrusive device fitted to the car, which records time of driving.”

XS Direct said the device tracks the time of car usage only, no data is collected on driving patterns or locations.

The cost of the device it is included in the policy and any charges that are incurred are calculated and charged through direct debit.

The company is initially limiting the policy to cars of 1300cc or lower with a minimum value of €5,000.

The company examined the cost of insurance for a 21-year-old male civil servant, provisional licence holder living in Dublin, driving a Ford Fiesta 1.3 litre to work who was prepared not to use the car on weekend nights.

“The Quinn Direct website was quoting €2,447 and Hibernian was quoting €2,696. The XS Direct Pumpkin premium quoted is €1,658, a saving of €789 against the lowest competitor in the market,” it said.

Pumpkin is being rolled out in Dublin first, but is expected to be extended to the rest of the country over the coming months.