EVERYONE must surely agree that car insurance is necessary, however expensive it might be.

It is simply too dangerous to drive around without any protection, not only for the motorist but for all other road users too.

But where is the sense that two similar people living a street apart could be quoted and paying such different amounts to insure the same vehicle?

An Examiner survey has found that difference could be as much as £550 for two people living less than 100 yards away from each other.

And the reason is all down to the postcode of where they live.

Our survey comes days after Dewsbury woman Jane Pratt hit out at the legal system. She was knocked down by an uninsured driver who was handed a fine but not banned from driving.

Ms Pratt is calling for those caught driving without insurance to be banned from the road.

And after spending eight days in hospital and suffering multiple injuries including fractures to her skull, she’s every right to be outraged.

Currently the legal system fines offenders, in some instances, less than what their insurance would be.

So when young drivers are quoted £22,854, as our survey found, then perhaps they are willing to take a risk hoping they’ll get away with it. If they don’t the financial cost is still no match for the hefty insurance quote.

A Brighouse mother who lost her son in a road accident in 2002 believes the ludicrous quote was a symptom of the poor driving standards of younger people.

But it’s time insurance industry stopped giving out such excessive quotes in the first place.