A teenager was been quoted a staggering 72,000 to insure his 600 car.

Joe Chute, from Slough, Berkshire, used a price comparison website to research the best deals to insure his W-reg Vauxhall Corsa.

But he did not anticipate insuring the 1.0 litre run-around would cost 120 times its value.

The 18-year-old teenager told The Sun: ‘If I had that kind of money, I wouldn’t need to drive. I could get taxis everywhere or hire a chauffeur.

‘Insurance companies are punishing me because of my age and where I live.’

Office worker Mr Chute said First Central Insurance wanted 16,745 up front plus 10 monthly instalments of 5,540.

He eventually found insurance for a more manageable 2,469,09.

Apparently Slough has a higher than normal number of uninsured drivers which pushes up premiums locally.

A spokesman for First Central said the teenager did not fit the company’s customer profile and said a computer glitch inflated the quote.

He said some groups of people were priced out as the firm were less interested in insuring them.

But Joe isn’t the first young driver to find his insurance costs inflated by location. Earlier this month we reported on the postcode insurance lottery facing motorists. One reader, Stuart Lea saw his annual motor insurance premium with Direct Line jump from 800 to 1,100 when it came up for renewal.

But it’s young drivers who are paying the biggest price. In March, we reported that 18-year-old Daniel Grey was quoted a premium of 24,000 for his 1999 Volvo S40 worth 700.

Earlier this month, the AA said that car insurance premiums are set to burst through the 1,000 barrier within a year as booming fraud and ‘abhorrent ambulance chasers’ drive up costs.

Its figures showed that premiums had risen by a record 40% in a year – the biggest annual rise since it started the index in 1994.

The increase has added 255 to the average cost of fully comprehensive cover, which now tops 890, but that is on course to soar by a further 20% in 2011.

Insurers say a major reason for this increase is fraudulent claims that are estimated to cost 2.7bn a year, adding 44 to the annual premium of honest motorists.

How did Joe get a quote for 72,000?

This is Money tried to fill in the blanks to recreate the search that Joe made to get his quote.

Based on a search made today on Moneysupermarket.com the cheapest policy he would find, based on an averaged search, is 2,232.81, from insurer Elephant. The most expensive would be 13,732.00.

Moneysupermarket.com would not name the company that quoted the most expensive policy but warned that some insurers will unnecessarily inflate the cost to prevent potential ‘high risk’ customers from taking out cover with them.

Joe would be seen as a ‘high risk’ customer because of his age, gender and lack of driving experience. Statistically young male drivers have more accidents, hence the current higher cost of insurance. New EU rules which come into force in December 2012 will stop insurers from using gender based statistics to calculate premiums.

Peter Harrison, car insurance expert at moneysupermarket.com said: ‘Young drivers, and specifically young male drivers, traditionally bear the brunt of a ‘boy racer’ reputation which is reflected in their premium prices, they are viewed as ‘high risk’ by insurers and therefore face huge car insurance costs.’

‘Unfortunately for those new drivers who are sensible behind the wheel they pay the price for their reckless peers and the only way they can prove their driving maturity is with a policy that employs telematic technology. Insurers such as Insure The Box use telematics to gauge a drivers behaviour and price their premium accordingly, rewarding good driving and reprimanding those that don’t drive appropriately.’

Top tips for younger drivers to cut car insurance costs

- Shop around – People who use moneysupermarket.com to compare car insurance prices save on average 282.

-Buy online – Many car insurance providers offer discounts to customers that buy online. 

-Mileage limit – Consider a mileage limit or to only drive at certain hours of the day. 

-Car security – Make sure you have an alarm and immobiliser.

- Drive a car with a smaller engine – A newer, more reliable car that is less likely to be used by ‘boy racers’ will have a cheaper premium.

-Parents – If at all possible, avoid being added to a parent’s insurance policy. It prevents you from building up your own no-claims bonus. However, adding a more experienced named driver to your policy may bring down your premium.

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