Any number of points on a driving licence will increase your car insurance costs.

With nine for example, drivers will pay an average of £615 more than a driver with no points.

More than 2.6 million drivers have points on their licence and around 1.9 million drivers have at least three, according to the data from Comparethemarket.com.

The average cost of car insurance is £628.13 for someone with a clean driving licence. Lots of things can impact the price you pay, from your profession to the type of car you drive, but having penalty points also makes a difference.

The comparison site revealed the cost increases to £688.54 with three points, £1,088.63 for six points, £1,243.90 for nine points and £1,793.51 for 11.

Between one and 12 penalty points can be added to your driving licence if you’re caught breaking the law or causing a driving offence. The number added will depend on how serious the offence is. The points stay on your licence between four and 11 years.

If you accrue 12 points on your licence within three years, you will be disqualified from driving.

Drivers in Yorkshire have the highest number of points

Geographically, drivers in Yorkshire are most likely to have at least three points on their driving licence.

Bradford has the highest number of drivers with penalty points. For every 1,000 driving licences held, 118.8 have at least three points. It’s followed by Leeds (99.1), Wakefield (94.8), and Liverpool (88.8).

Canterbury has the lowest number (41), followed by Cambridge, and Ely (both 43), and London (47.3).

Older drivers more likely to have penalty points

Drivers aged 50 are the most likely to have points on their licence than any other age. Men in this age group are 2.3 times more likely than women of the same age to have points.

Those aged 17 to 24 had the fewest number of points on their licence. In 2021, there were 162,000 drivers aged 17-24 with points compared to 577,000 aged 45-54.

Alex Hasty, director at Comparethemarket.com, said: “Having three points on your licence increases your average yearly car insurance cost by £60 per year, and it could go up by as much as £615 if you were to get nine points, according to our data.

“It’s important when looking for a car insurance provider that you’re honest about any existing points on your licence, as it can put you at risk of invalidating your car insurance.”