Why older drivers will not want a black box

BLACK boxes which insurers use to monitor driving are too intrusive to catch on across the market, the boss of Hastings Direct has said.

Motorists who install the so-called telematics systems get cheaper premiums, but these rise if bad driving is detected.

The devices are popular with young drivers keen to cut costs but Hastings chief executive Gary Hoffman said they would never be a hit with older customers.

He said: ‘It’s mostly a proposition for parents, where the deal is that they will pay for their children’s insurance as long as they agree to have a black box.

‘But if you’re an older driver who’s low risk you don’t particularly want a black box just to save £50.’

Big-name insurers such as Aviva have rushed to embrace the devices, and in some cases fitting a box can save young drivers more than £1,000.

Hastings revealed that it wrote £462m of premiums in the first half of 2017, which was up 28pc on a year earlier.

A January survey found the number of boxes in the UK had soared above 750,000 for the first time.