RESIDENTS in South Craven have been warned that their insurance premiums may be higher than necessary, because they have a BD20 postcode.

District councillor Patricia Fairbank raised the subject of postcodes at Cononley Parish Council.

She asserted that she had evidence that some local people were being overcharged for their insurance because their postcode indicated they lived in West Yorkshire, when in fact they lived in North Yorkshire.

This applies to all South Craven residents who pay council tax to Craven District Council, as opposed to Bradford, and have a BD20 or BD22 postcode.

Coun Fairbank is determined to see the system changed, so that insurance companies are made aware that these villages lie in North Yorkshire and therefore should attract lower premiums.

A spokesman for the Post Office said that the division of the area into postcodes had not depended upon local government boundaries for 35 years.

He said: "Postal addresses, including postcodes are purely for sorting mail and are not necessarily geographic identifiers.

"It is an operational arrangement which ensures the most efficient service to our customers."

However many companies use postcodes as geographic indicators when taking down details of insurance applications.

The Association of British Insurance Companies confirmed that some insurance companies used the postcode as a quick way to divide up the country for risk assessment.

A spokesman from the association said: "Not all insurance companies use the postcode to determine premiums, but a lot of companies do depend on them.

"Some go on just the beginning of the postcode, and others narrow it down to the street by using the whole thing. There is often a problem when postcodes change.

"What people in that situation should do is to look around the insurance market, maybe use an insurance broker and find a company which uses the whole postcode."

But Coun Fairbank said: "I don't see why people in the Aire Valley district should be inconvenienced in this way. It shouldn't be up to people to ring around to make sure the insurance companies understand they live in North Yorkshire.

"The postcodes are for the Royal Mail's convenience but they are not convenient for the residents who have to pay more.

"We pay more for public transport because we live in North Yorkshire, now we are paying more because we apparently live in West Yorkshire. They can't have it both ways.

"The Royal Mail and the insurance companies are just passing the book. I am determined to get somewhere with this campaign.

Cononley parish councillors agreed to support Coun Fairbank's campaign.