Would you let a car insurer spy on you to get cheap cover?
More and more drivers do — but it means signing away your privacy
it is sorely tempting to put my foot down and break the 30mph speed limit while driving to my friend’s engagement party.
Not only am i running late, a car is following me so closely the driver may as well be sitting on my bumper. But i will not budge above 29mph — because a computer is monitoring my every move.
For the past few days, i’ve been using a new type of technology, telematics, to record my driving habits — my speed, how suddenly i brake, even where i go and when. if i can prove to this little computer that i am a safe driver, i’ll save money on my car insurance.
But so far it’s not looking too good. Apparently i’m a tad on the speedy side, and now i’m frantically trying to improve my score.
telematics insurance, or little black box insurance as it’s also known, has been around in the UK since 2008, but has soared in popularity in recent years.
today, there are more than a dozen insurers offering this type of cover. some are household names, such as the AA and tesco Bank, while others are smaller firms specialising in this technology.
the boom is largely down to younger drivers who have realised they can save hundreds of pounds with a telematics deal.
in the past year, the average car insurance premium for a new driver aged 18 has risen by 17 pc to an eyewatering £2,000.
But if they are willing to opt for a telematics deal, many insurers will give them a significant discount.
For example, on comparison site Gocompare the cheapest traditional car insurance policy listed for a 17-year-old motorist from London driving a 2011, 1.2L Renault Clio costs £2,487 with Churchill. if they sign up for little black box insurance, it’s £1,881 with Hastings Direct smartMiles — a £606 saving.
this is because insurers know that someone willing to have their driving monitored is more likely to be a safe driver. And if not, they can hike your premium at the end of the year.
A spokesman for Direct Line DrivePlus says: ‘ telematics is generally chosen by those keen to be rewarded for safe driving through lower premiums. the safest drivers avoid harsh braking or acceleration and drive at a safe speed.’
in the past year, the number of young drivers choosing telematics over traditional car insurance has jumped 13 pc, says comparison site Moneysupermarket. Older drivers are also turning to these policies to combat soaring premiums.
But telematics isn’t for everyone. in order to make savings you may have to make serious sacrifices — not least with your privacy.
HOW THEY TRACK YOUR MOVEMENTS
Telematics policies differ from insurer to insurer. But all involve having a small device fitted to your car that monitors your driving.
i’ve been trialling two pieces of kit — one with insure the Box and another with smart Driver Club.
With insure the Box, an engineer has to visit my home to glue a small black box, about the size of a smartphone, to the battery of my car.
With smart Driver Club the device, which looks like a phone charger, plugs into a small port, the on-board diagnostic (OBD), that connects to your car’s computer. this is usually found in the footwell.
Normally this would be posted to you, but because my car is, according to the firm, ‘a little tricky’ an engineer has come out to do it for me.
Once fitted, each journey is recorded: my speed, how tightly i take corners, any sudden stops, the time of day i drive, what roads i use and how far i travel.
All this data is then fed back to the insurer, who can use it set the price of my premium in the future.
BIG BROTHER IS ALWAYS WATCHING
YOU can also see the information being collected. With insure the Box you have access to an online account with all your data, updated monthly. Drivers are also sent tips
on how to improve by email. Charlotte halkett, at Insure the says: ‘this works well for young ple, not just because it helps m get cheaper premiums, but use they respond well to feedk. they have just passed their and still have a lot to learn.’ art driver Club has an app you download onto a mobile phone blet. I find this far more useful, u don’t have to wait a month to eedback — it’s updated every nd. You can see your average d, idle time and how much a ney has cost in fuel. at made me uncomfortable is it shows your recent journeys. ke me, you share a car with your ner, that’s the end of surprise hday shopping. t, right now, that’s the least of worries. there is a section on app called driving behaviour. ooks like a speedometer and es from very bad to very good. unately, my overall driving is in bright green ‘very good’ section. braking and accelerating are very good. But after just three my speed rating is down at the end of the spectrum. m not someone who drives at ph in a 30 zone, but admittedly prone to hover more around 33 30. I vow to change my ways. well as keeping speed down, e are also antifraud and safety fits to telematics insurance. If re involved in an accident, it can determine whether it was a prang, a pileup or if the car has flipped.
the first thing the insurer will do is call to check you’re ok. If you don’t answer, it will call the emergency services on your behalf — Insure the Box says it does this around 16 times a month.
If you do answer, it will ask what happened and take notes. When in shock, it is easy to forget crucial details. this way, there is a record — very useful if you later want to challenge an insurance claim.
With smart driver Club there is a ‘where did I park my car’ feature. this is useful if, like me, you have a habit of forgetting where you’ve parked. But it’s also helpful if your car is stolen.
Increasingly, parents are using it to check up on children. any child who thinks they can fool them by unplugging the device is mistaken — the firm calls the policyholder to check nothing is wrong.
If you switch insurer your data should be wiped from its system — it will not pass the information on to your new provider.
WATCH OUT FOR THE SMALL PRINT
With most insurers there is no fee charged to have the device installed in your car.
the cost is included in the price of your premium, although some charge a fee of up to £100 if you want it removed later. smart driver Club, however, charges customers a £7.99 monthly fee — nearly £100 a year.
For this, it will alert you to problems with the car, such as low oil. It will also use the data it collects about your driving to help you get cheaper cover through its insurance arm. But this isn’t guaranteed, and it is what all other insurers say they do as well.
Many policies also limit how far you can drive. Insure the Box and tesco Bank Box, for example, offer ‘limited mileage policies’. this allows you to choose a package of miles for the year — a bit like choosing how many minutes and texts you want with a mobile phone contract.
Insure the Box says its most popular option is a 6,000 milesayear deal. drivers can then earn up to 100 bonus miles each month as a reward for safe driving, bringing their yearly maximum to 7,200 miles.
If you go over your allowance, some firms will bill you for every extra mile you drive. others may let you know you’ve gone over your allowance and then increase your premium next year. so anyone who drives long distances or regularly travels for work may want to think again before signing up.
People who work evening shifts or do a lot of late night driving should also be aware that drivers are often penalised for being on the road after 11pm. Insurers say this is because statistics show this is when most bad accidents occur. But this means someone doing a night shift in a hospital or restaurant may be dumped into the same category as those leaving a nightclub.
and if you share a car with anyone, their driving will impact your score, too. It didn’t take long for me to become unwilling to hand over the keys to my husband. I’d been religiously keeping to speed limits in a bid to improve my driving score and nothing was going to change this.
as it happens, my husband is a very good driver. But if you’re sharing a car with a reckless older brother, for example, your insurer could end up hiking your premium by hundreds of pounds if it doesn’t like his driving style.
after two weeks, I finally made it to the green part of the speed monitoring dial. this means I’m able to earn bonus miles or get a cheaper policy when I come to renew. But while I’ve enjoyed tracking how much journeys have cost and how long they’ve taken, I’m not sure this type of insurance is for me.
Being under constant surveillance for two weeks has taken its toll. I’m keen to get back to focusing on the road instead of obsessing over my speedometer.