St Albans MP Anne Main has called for greater transparency in the car insurance industry amid claims that high levels of car insurance premiums are damaging the job prospects for younger people.

During a debate in parliament, Mrs Main said: ‘I am worried that this is a social mobility issue as much as anything else. In constituencies such as mine, where the average house price is more than £550,000 and where £1,200 does not rent an awful lot of property, young people who want to leave home or get jobs are priced further out.’

‘People who are less economically advantaged commute in from areas where rents are less expensive, to do some of the key jobs of such constituencies, on a lower pay grade. So there is the perverse situation where people with less in their pocket, who live in areas where car theft is potentially more likely, are penalised for coming to do care work or other essential jobs in my ​constituency, because they have to drive in from further away.’

‘Eighty-six per cent of St Albans residents have access to a car or van, which is above the county average, and 89% of residents aged over 17 have a full driving licence. The roads in my area are incredibly congested. Therefore, not only is there competition to get to the jobs and to ​live in areas that people can afford; they are dicing with the M25 and the M1, some of the biggest and most difficult stretches of motorway in the country. Some of the comments that have been made in the debate about expanding people’s driving experience are hugely important.’

Anne called for greater transparency from insurers.  ‘I would like a more pragmatic approach from the insurance companies. They need to be more accountable and to justify the way premiums work,’ she said. ‘I would not want to think that young people can be in the privileged position of being free to go where they want only if they happen to have a bank of mum and dad.’

Mrs Main believes that road maintenance needs to be considered in insurance rates: ‘if a road hazard sign has been defaced or is not visible because of vegetation: that is no help to a young, inexperienced driver.’