The Chartered Insurance Institute has launched a national consultation on the role insurers can play in improving road safety for young drivers, following a coroner's report into the deaths of two teenagers killed in a collision involving a 17-year-old driver.
Harry Purcell and Matilda Seccombe died in the road traffic collision. The teenage driver responsible was later convicted of causing death by careless driving.
The Coroner's Office of Coventry and Warwickshire subsequently called on the CII to consider how the insurance profession could contribute to safer outcomes for young drivers, with particular focus on telematics. The professional body is now seeking input from members, stakeholders and public interest groups.
The CII has set out several areas of focus — how insurers currently use telematics to promote safer driving; how clearly telematics products are explained to young drivers and their parents; where insurers could play a stronger role in improving safety outcomes; and what professional standards should apply across the sector.
The evidence base for action is not in dispute. Government data recorded 1,602 road fatalities in Great Britain in 2024. Fatal and serious injuries for young drivers and their passengers remain disproportionately high. In 2024, passenger casualties accounted for 21% of all killed or seriously injured casualties from collisions involving at least one younger car driver, compared with 14% for collisions involving drivers of other ages.
According to Department for Transport data, young male drivers aged 17 to 24 are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than car drivers aged over 25. Rural roads are a particular hazard, accounting for 49% of young driver killed or seriously injured casualties, compared with 42% for other drivers.
Meanwhile, one in six younger drivers involved in a serious crash was not wearing a seatbelt, against 6% for drivers aged 50 and above. Around one in five drivers is involved in a crash within a year of passing their test.
Telematics — technology that monitors driving behaviour in real time — has been identified as a potentially significant tool in addressing these risks, and the market has already moved substantially in this direction, driven as much by cost as by any conscious safety choice.
Over half of UK consumers between 18 and 25 who hold a motor insurance policy now have some form of telematics cover. Drivers aged 17 to 19 pay on average 83% more for traditional cover than for a telematics policy, a gap of approximately £2,712, making price the primary driver of uptake. GlobalData's 2024 UK Insurance Consumer Survey found that 68% of 18 to 25-year-olds had some form of telematics policy, split between black box (40.2%) and app-based (27.9%) products.
Despite the cost-driven nature of adoption, 62.5% of UK consumers with a telematics policy said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the financial savings it generated.
The coroner's report raised specific concerns about variation in how telematics is applied across the insurance market, and how clearly its safety benefits are communicated to young drivers and their families. That gap sits at the heart of what the CII's consultation is seeking to address.
The CII's consultation lands within a broader and long-running policy debate in which the insurance industry has an established voice.
The Association of British Insurers has for some years supported the introduction of a Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) system, proposing measures including a minimum 12-month learning period, restrictions on young passengers during the first six months of independent driving, and night-time driving limits.
The AA has estimated that a GDL scheme could prevent 58 deaths and 934 serious injuries annually in the UK, with comparable systems in Australia, Canada and New Zealand having reduced deaths and serious injuries by between 20% and 40%.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland has confirmed it will implement a GDL system from October 2026, requiring learners to drive for at least six months before taking their practical test and to complete 14 specific training modules. England, Scotland and Wales have not yet committed to a formal scheme, though cross-party parliamentary support for the concept has grown.
Matthew Hill, chief executive of the CII Group, framed the consultation as both a professional and a moral obligation.
"This tragedy reminds us of the risks faced by young drivers and the devastating consequences road collisions can have," he said. "We will enlist support from our members, the wider sector and other stakeholders to make a demonstrable difference, and save lives."
