It's easy for things to drive people round the bend, and car insurance may be one of them. The RAC has found that one in three consumers are paying too much for their car insurance.

Therefore, many drivers do not search for quotes and one in four renew their car instantly, to save hassle, but not money. New regulations mean that there is increasing pressure on insurers to raise premiums.

Conflicting with this, nine out of ten motorists will be involved in an accident, but a thrird would rather pay up themselves, than make an insurance claim.

Those who do pay, are doing so in fear of losing their no-claims bonus an insurance company found. Driver's on average are prepared to pay out £235 of their own money to fix the damage.

10% are willing to pay £500 to avoid making a claim. The company stated that the majority of accidents will be collisions involving two or more vehicles, this would cost an average of £1,100 to correct.

A third would be 'small prangs' costing less than £500. The unwillingness to claim on motor policiesmeans that many individuals are unnecessarily out of pocket, or driving in damaged vehicles.

To add fuel to the fire, many insurers are concerned that many young male drivers are also uninsured. More  than 130,000 under 25 year olds were convicted of driving without insurance in 2001.

Statistics also show how young drivers are involved in more accidents or deaths on the road than any other age group.

One in three young male drivers will write of a car in their first year of driving, whereas young women are half as likely to do so.

One quarter of the convictions for causing death by dangerous driving are for drivers under 20 years old.This is alarming as this age only represents 3% of all drivers.

These worries have spread so far, that some companies have even requested a ban on car magazines targeted for drivers under 21.

These actions are resulting in alot of insurance companies feeling pressure to offer huge no-claims bonuses for youngmen, who drive small engine cars, and do not have an accident.

Whereas enforcing higher premiums on those drivers with 'souped-up' cars. Insurance for these young drivers therefore are causing problems to insurance companies.

One problem is that insurers are finding more younger drivers driving older cars, with bigger engines, that are cheaper to buy, hence many youngsters are drawn to this.

The downside to this is that old cars tend to be more heavier, hence cause more damage when in an accident.

Also some older cars do not have the luxury of modern technology, such as big brake lights, antilock brakes or power steering.

Insurers are feeling the pressure, and maybe the only way to assess premiums are by looking at age and responsibility for accidents. However, this is very bias, resulting in every young driver suffering.

There are ofcourse ways to make car insurance cheaper. Check with your insurer if the model you want will have a significant affect on the premium. If you opt for a different model, this may save money.

Fitting an alarm or immobiliser can attract a discount of 5%. Also agree to a mileage restriction. Fewer the miles, greater the pennies.

So don't drive yourself mad going round and round in your head not knowing what insurer to choose. Do your research and let your car do it instead.