According to a survey from one of UK’s leading car insurance companies, in the past 12 months 1.15 million people have driven a car without car insurance in place.

The survey revealed that drivers aged between 17 and 24 are more likely to commit this serious offence, with nearly 2/5 of respondents confessing driving a car with no insurance. Following is the 25 to 34 year old range with 2% of drivers admitting not having car insurance in place and risking being banned from driving. Drivers over 65 are the least likely to commit such offence, at 1%!

Regionally speaking, London had the highest scores in all the UK with 6% of London’s drivers not having car insurance, followed by South West and Wales with 5%, Yorkshire & Humberside with 4%, the North with 2%, South East with 1%, East Midlands and Anglia with 1% and West Midlands with 1%.

When asked why drive around with no car insurance knowing the risks of such serious infraction, 19% of drivers admitted they couldn’t afford to buy it, an incredible 19% did not consider it necessary, 13% had forgotten to take out motor insurance and a “Busy” 13% said that they did not have time to arrange cover.

With the amount of car insurance companies on the market today, getting your motor insured is quick and “easy”. So look around and compare car insurance quotes to find the one that best suits your budget.

People are beginning to store more and more personal posessions in their garden sheds and are not insuring them.

Mike Pickard, Head of risk and underwriting for a leading insurance company, said: ‘Even household items are now being stored outdoors, blurring the distinction between home contents and outbuilding and garden contents.’

One report has found that close to 650,000 UK homeowners have had items stolen from garden sheds or garden storage areas in the last year.

This research indicates that 11% of homeowners will spend more than £500 on their gardens and garden accessories in 2008, but these same people won’t take time to ensure the safety of these possessions.

Other research has shown that 93% of households regularly leave items outside overnight, and that even though 14% of homeowners have posssesions in their sheds valued up to £1,500, of the 69% of households with a shed, 9% never lock it.

This could render home insurance invalid, the moral of the story, keep your valuables locked away in a safe insured place.

Taking advanced driving lessons could reduce the cost of car insurance by as much as 25%, according to a report in Times Online this morning.

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly met with insurance industry leaders yesterday to discuss course content and possible discount levels.

The proposed courses, which will be developed and approved by the Driving Standards Agency, are likely to include techniques that are not currently part of the standard driving tuition, such as motorway driving and high speed emergency braking.

Insurance companies may be willing to offer people who have completed an advanced driving course a 25% discount on their car insurance, because advanced driving skills could significantly reduce the risk of an accident (by as much as 35%, according to Edmund King of the AA).