Young people using private electric scooters on roads and pavements risk facing huge insurance premiums when they want to drive a car, says the comparison website MoneySuperMarket.
It emerged this week that almost 800 children aged 13 to 16 had been issued an IN10 endorsement – the code used by the police for “using a vehicle uninsured against third-party risks” since the start of 2020. It stays on a person’s driving record for four years from the date of the offence.
IAM RoadSmart, a safety charity that obtained the figures with a freedom of information request, said many of the cases were likely to involve private e-scooters, which cannot be driven in public spaces.
MoneySuperMarket’s figures, based on policies for sale through its website, show an IN10 endorsement could add £1,000 to the annual cost of car insurance. It ran quotes for 17- to 19-year-olds with no recorded offences and found the average annual premium for a one-off payment was £1,766. The same driver with an IN10 would be quoted £2,767. Among 20- to 29-year-olds, the quote for a driver with no offences was £1,272. For those with an IN10 it rose to £2,272. Hilary Osborne
Kara Gammell, car insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: “If you own an e-scooter, you need to know that riding one illegally is punishable by up to six penalty points on your driving licence and a £300 fine, which can also significantly drive up the cost of your car insurance.”
She added: “If you’re a parent considering buying your teen an e-scooter, or they already own one, be sure to have a conversation with them about using it responsibly, and let them know that riding it on a public road, as well as being illegal, could seriously affect the cost of your car insurance, or theirs in the future.”
