Motor Insurance - In general

Is All-Insurance a company? Well, this op is about car insurance in general, ok?
Buying a car. OK, lets check costs. First, the car itself. Upwards of £100, not bad. Second, petrol. Depends on how much you drive. Third, road tax. Not too bad, once a year and its done. Hmm, that doesnt sound too bad. Yes, but that is without insurance.
For first time owners, insurance is a total nightmare. It is a massive burden, not only on your wallet, but on the car you buy. Big car = Big costs. Little car = slightly smaller costs. my sister pays £800 per year for a 1.1 litre Saxo. In a few years, she will have paid more in insurance than the cost of the car itself. Road tax is almost irrelevant compared to this. And then there's the rising costs of petrol on top.
The thing that really makes insurance bite is that if some idiot drives into you and refuses to admit it's his fault, you can either claim and lose your bonus and raise costs, or pay hundreds of pounds to get your beast repaired. And it wasnt anything like your fault.
The insurance companies don't help either. Trying to get quotes is a farce. My mum has rung up one company several times asking for a quote for the same car, same driver, and received quotes ranging from £700 to £1100. Thats the same company. One time, she got told £1000, then she took my Dad off(never had a crash in 25 years) and said she would drive it for 8000 miles instead of 10000, and it cost 250 quid less. Crazy.
But why is the cost of insurance for young people rising? Well, it really is obvious. Lads my age racing around country lanes at 90mph. In the year above me at school. Every lad in the year bar one has had a crash. It is ridiculous. Really, just because you pay a lot doesn't mean you have to try and get value for money.
Well, all in all, insurance is a real strain on resources for first time drivers. But then again, if it keeps more young loonies off the road, or at least forces them to get smaller cars, maybe its not such a bad thing.