A Bradford MP has called for a summit on the spiralling costs of car insurance in the city after one of his constituents was quoted more than £26,000 to cover his son’s car – for third party, fire and theft.

Dennis Nunn bought his son, Jamie, a car for his 17th birthday but after trawling price comparison websites the cheapest quote he could find was for about £9,000, he said, with the most expensive coming in at the staggering £26,000.

David Ward, Liberal Democrat MP for Bradford East, said the situation in some parts of Bradford was “fast becoming ridiculous”.

The Nunns, who live in Eccleshill, have been forced to sell the car, a 1.1 litre Citroen Saxo, which they had bought for £700. Mr Nunn said: “My son is car mad like me, but now his aspirations of running his first car at 17 have been blown right out of the water because companies are charging extortionate prices because they want to get their losses back.”

The family lives in the BD2 postcode area – which includes Eccleshill, Undercliffe, Fagley and Bolton. The area has almost twice the national average of uninsured drivers, according to industry figures.

Mr Ward said: “We have people who haven’t made a claim for 30 years being refused insurance, young drivers are being quoted premiums of more than £20,000 for their first car and many responsible drivers have seen their premiums go through the roof just because of their post code.

“There is clearly a problem with the number of uninsured drivers on the road in Bradford and this is definitely pushing up premiums.

“We might need to look at whether the level of fines is a sufficient deterrent and whether there might be other ways of cracking down on people driving uninsured. There is also an issue with the rising number of personal injury claims which is partly being driven by the merry-go-round of fees paid by personal injury lawyers – there may be a case for banning these fees outright.

“I am calling a summit in Bradford in the next month to get to the bottom of this problem and to look at the possible solutions. This will include people from the insurance industry, the police and the driving public. I would urge anyone who feels they have something to contribute to get in touch with my office on (01274) 403973.”

The Association of British Insurers said it would welcome the chance to discuss what needs to be done to ensure people in Bradford get the best possible motor insurance deal.

A spokesman said: “Uninsured drivers are a menace on our roads. Not only do they put lives at risk, but the costs of accidents they are involved in also push up the cost of insurance for law-abiding motorists.

“The insurance industry remains determined to reduce this problem, and works closely with the police to ensure that it is harder for anyone driving without cover to get away with it, and presses for the strongest possible penalties for those caught.

“But uninsured driving is not the only reason for the general rise in the cost of motor insurance. The very high costs of settling personal injury claims and the rise in fraudulent and exaggerated claims means that for every £1 motor insurers receive in premiums they pay out £1.26 in claims and expenses.

“Young drivers face particular problems, as the cost of their insurance has to reflect the sad fact that they are much more likely to be involved in a serious and possibly very expensive accident.”

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