Motorists who are caught using their mobile phones whilst sat at the wheel may have to pay hundreds of pounds more for car insurance. Leading insurance companies are now considering the offence as serious and as unsafe driving and could make guilty drivers pay up to 30% more on their premiums. Insurance companies such as Norwich Union, Zurich, Alliance and Leicester, Churchill and Allianz now ask drivers who are looking to buy insurance with them if they have ever had a conviction for using their mobile phone whilst driving and take it into account when calculating quotes for their customers.

Many insurers said they beefed up their policies after penalties for the offence were increasing since February this year. The originally the fine was £30 fine but has now risen to £60 and drivers also receive three points on to their licence. The additional insurance cost for motorists convicted of the offence varies between companies but Allianz adds 30% more to the premiums.

The average annual car insurance for a driver is around £682, according to the AA, this could potentially means that if a convicted motorists with the company would have to pay £204 extra a year. Mark Bishop, who is a spokesman for Allianz, said:

Ian Crowder, spokesman for the AA, also said:

"This is a responsible approach by insurers. In our experience, drivers who have been convicted of using their phones tend to pick up more claims and are therefore deemed to be more dangerous. Drivers who use their phones are a big risk in terms of their lack of awareness, concentration on surroundings and failure to control the car properly. This is why a mobile phone offence often goes hand in hand with a careless driving offence."

Since December 2003 It has now been illegal to use a mobile phone while driving but the number of drivers caught breaking the new law is rising and rising. Almost 500 drivers were fined every day in 2006, making it a total of more than 168,000. That is 29% up on the 129,700 fines issued in 2005, according to figures gathered from the Ministry of Justice.

The Government believes that up to around 300,000 drivers a day are still illegally using hand-held phones behind the wheel. Although the law allows the use of hands-free phones, there are some campaigners who believe these are also a dangerous form of distraction whilst driving out on the open road.

The AA, which acts as a broker for 20 leading insurers, said it was advising insurance companies on its panel to take the offence into account when giving quotes. This month, the AA conducted another survey, and found that car insurance companies have added around 18% to premiums if a driver admits to an incurring CU80, which is the code for identifying a mobile phone penalty on a licence.

Drivers who are caught speeding typically have to pay £10 to £30 more on their premiums for a first offence. But if they found themselves convicted again, they can expect to have to pay as much as £150 more. There are some firms that even will refuse to even give them a quote.