Driving in the rain could see your insurance go up

DRIVERS who regularly travel in bad weather could be penalised with higher insurance premiums based on new in-car technology.

Industry chiefs have suggested they will increasingly use black box recording devices to vary premiums based on whether drivers take to the road in heavy rain, snow and ice.

As a result motorists who brave the storm could see themselves paying more, while those who weather it at home stand to save money.

The black box systems were introduced on the basis they help drivers, mainly youngsters, to prove they are safe behind the wheel and so qualify for cheaper insurance.

They track a person’s driving habits – including speed, braking and acceleration – in order to draw up a risk profile which is transmitted to insurers.

But increasingly the technology, already offered by Axa, Admiral and Lv=, will take into account other ‘risk factors’ such as the weather, according to Octo, the world’s big- gest provider of in-car telematics. Using data from The Weather Company, an American equivalent of the Met Office, the technology can create a ‘scoring algorithm’ by assessing the conditions during a driver’s journey.

Fabio Sbianchi of Octo Telematics said: ’Drivers with good scores based on this algorithm are rewarded with discounted quotes from a number of insurers, which they can choose to accept at their discretion.’

Drivers can pay up to 30 per cent less for insurance if they prove to have good driving habits.

A younger driver, who would be in the highest-risk category, could cut their insurance by more than £300.

A spokesman said Octo is now ‘ working with major insurers’ to include weather in most telematics insurance policies, which are currently used by around 323,000 British drivers. Weather-based pricing is already available via the Octo U smartphone app.