The cost of uninsured drivers and fraudulent claims is estimated to stand at £2 billion, which is pushing up the cost of motor cover for all UK drivers. Market research carried out to investigate the effect of uninsured drivers and fraudulent claimants took into account 100,000 insurance quotes and calculated that drivers will face a rise of £2 billion on the cost of insurance when compared to the same time last year. It’s been a bad year for motorists on the whole as figures revealed that insurance premiums have risen by 20% in the last 12 months. Taking all of this into account, the insurance group AA say the cost of comprehensive cover has increased by 18.7 in the last year which means drivers are faced with premiums of on average, over £1,000. Uninsured drivers are said to exasperating the situation with companies having to deal with 30,000 claims a year carried out by drivers with no cover. Out of the 1.5 million uninsured drivers on UK roads, half of these are under the age of 29. It’s been suggested that the high cost of car insurance for younger drivers is playing a significant role in preventing these motorists from purchasing cover as they simply can’t afford it. Also the penalties for drivers who are caught without insurance are very low in some cases, with fines costing as little as £50, meaning there is not a strong enough deterrent in place to warn these motorists off driving without insurance.