What Car? Q&A - Do driver aids cut insurance bills?

Q: Do insurance companies charge less for cars that have traction control and electronic stability control fitted?
Mark Scoble

A: Most insurance companies don’t reduce a premium just because a car has driver aids such as traction control fitted. However, these safety devices are taken into account when a risk assessment is carried out on a particular make and model of a car. Here they may influence the rating of a car from a liability point of view.

Insurance companies also work on the basis that driver aids are just that – they won’t turn a bad driver into a good one. A high-risk motorist is more likely to have an accident in spite of the systems installed in the car.