It’s a modern world – so is it about time you embraced technology to help get cheaper car insurance? We explain the ways that geeking up your motor with black box car insurance can take pounds off your premiums.
LITTLE BLACK BOX CAR INSURANCE
Having a black box fitted to your car to monitor your driving habits and help reduce your insurance premium is not a new idea but it’s increasing in popularity now that gender discrimination is frowned upon in the car insurance industry.
That said, they tend to still be targeted at younger drivers – with most insurers capping the policy at 25 years old. But with 5 insurers having no age limit it means, if you shop around, you will find someone who will offer you a discount for having it installed.
A Co-op Smartbox, part of their Young Driver policy, allows them to measure how safe your driving is which could get you an average of £120 off your premium. Customers got back £120 on average in year one Mar 11-Feb 17. Your premium may go up or down depending on your driving score but the maximum discount available is 22.5% and it will never increase by more than 20% over the course of the year. The policy is usually open to 17-75 year olds so plenty of opportunity for smart drivers of all ages to reap the reward. For more information about Co-op Young Driver insurance, click here.
Consumer watchdog, Which? have explored the territory for you, of course, and have concluded
“This type of policy is only worth considering if
- You’re a younger driver and want to secure discounted premiums (assuming you prove to be a careful driver)
- You’re a parent and want to sign up your son or daughter to a telematic product that has a level of joint responsibility and allows you to monitor their habits
- You are an older driver who travels relatively few miles, usually during off-peak periods.”
See their full report on their website here.
So, if you fall in to the above criteria, it could be just the policy for you. That said, as with any policy, you should consider all the angles. Have a think about whether you fancy the thought of having your every move tracked, of course – isn’t the fact that you’ve been claim free for years enough? And if you’re nervy about data protection then make sure you check the small print to see how the Insurers may use your information. The very notion of a black box means that they will have to use that information in some way, shape or form, but who they share it with and under what circumstances can vary from brand to brand so do make sure you are clear what your policy will offer.
Some providers also set curfews and may also charge you if you break them. They may also charge you if you later want to remove your blackbox or change vehicles – so, again, always check the small print.
DASH CAMs
This guy keyed a £100,000 Aston Martin whilst walking a pram in Hackney http://t.co/6G4qHoIMFP pic.twitter.com/lpRBi06YI6
— Complex UK (@complex_uk) August 19, 2015
We all winced at the story in the news last month when a dashboard camera caught a nasty passerby keying an Aston Martin (check out DOES MY CAR INSURANCE POLICY PROTECT ME AGAINST VANDALISM?) but you have to admit, it made you think about getting a dash cam, didn’t it? They’re designed to capture poor driving for the purposes of proving fault should a claim be necessary – but now that it’s clear it can also aide in the quest to track down other types of mean behaviour on our pavements too we’d be surprised if sales haven’t rocketed as a result.
We’re still a way off all mainstream insurers offering discounts for having a camera fitted (although Swiftcover claim to be the first mainstream insurance company to do so) but whoever you are insured with will surely look favourably on a claim if you can provide evidence of what really happened, meaning you are more likely to keep your no-claims bonus which can only be good in the long term.
Swiftcover do have some restrictions on their policy they will only offer the discount if you install a specific type of camera so, of course, always check the small print before you buy the policy.
On their website Swiftcover say
“At Swiftcover, we believe that drivers with dashcams will be more careful on the road – and if they were unlucky enough to be involved in a car accident, they’d be able to send us video evidence to support their claim. That’s why we’re happy to give a dashcam discount.”
So the future is looking promising for techno-savvy drivers – although, sadly, we are still a way off having Anti-Stupidity Chips installed in most of the drivers on the road. More news on that, as we have it.
In the meantime, if you want to save cash on your car insurance, consider these options and watch your pennies fall off your premium.
Information correct on 23rd Sept 2015
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