Can you REALLY trust your car’s little black box?

They’re must-have gadgets for any young driver who needs insurance. But as complaints soar about crashes that never happened and bogus speeding claims...

DRIVERS are being urged to take out socalled ‘ black box’ car insurance, despite fears that inaccurate readings are actually increasing costs.

Bad reviews of the black box policies have nearly doubled in two years, and more than 70 pc of feedback in 2018 was negative, according to consumer site Smart Money People.

More than four in five complaints relate to the accuracy of the devices.

In one case, a young driver said his black box had recorded him crossing the English Channel even though he was in the UK at the time.

Others have reported receiving bad driving scores while their car has been parked on their driveway.

In the worst cases, the errors have resulted in policies being cancelled, leaving motorists uninsured.

The Financial Ombudsman is also concerned about the issue, warning it has heard from ‘a growing number of people’ that the data collected by their black box is wrong.

More than one million motorists in the UK have a black box policy — or, as it is more formally called, telematics car insurance.

Ordinarily, insurers price car cover premiums based on factors such as your age, postcode and what car you drive. But, with telematics policies, prices can go up or down depending on driving style, mileage, the routes you tend to take and the time of day you travel.

Insurers use a black box fitted in your car or a smartphone app to record the information. Drivers will then receive a notification via email or text message if the insurer wants to alert them about poor driving habits — such as speeding or braking too hard.

Too many of these incidents, or an extremely serious one, can result in premium hikes or the policy being cancelled altogether. YET,

despite this, young motorists are often willing to have their driving scrutinised, as the policies can be hundreds of pounds cheaper.

In fact, the policies have been so widely praised, increasing numbers of older drivers are applying for the deals, too.

But now, experts are warning some of the technology used by insurers may be flawed.

Part of the problem is that telematics devices operate in different ways. Some are installed within the car itself, usually through a computer that monitors data such as your speed and mileage and is located under the dashboard.

But others use GPS technology, or the same signal as mobile phones.

Bad weather, poor road conditions and a lack of signal can affect their performance.

One couple told the Financial Ombudsman that, two months after taking out a telematics policy with Southern Rock last year, their driving score had dropped so low they were asked to pay an extra £692.

Four months later, the car was involved in an accident and the policy was cancelled. They complained to the firm that the additional premium had been excessive and later went to the Ombudsman.

Southern Rock claimed the black box had recorded ‘three mini crashes’ within a three

hour period on the day of the accident and a total of ‘ 1,812 impacts’ in the six months the policy had existed.

The Ombudsman ordered Southern Rock to refund the couple the additional premium and pay £100 in compensation.

Its ruling said: ‘ The available evidence does raise doubts about the accuracy of the black box.’

Another driver told the Ombudsman that he had raised concerns about his black box soon after taking out a policy with More Than, the trading name of Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA), in July 2017.

The device had merged two sets of journeys into one on at least two separate occasions in July and September 2017, which meant he was recorded as speeding.

RSA accepted the error and replaced the black box. However, the motorist continued to be penalised on several occasions for driving over the speed limit on 20 mph roads.

He used his own dashcam footage to prove he had not even been driving on the roads on which RSA claimed to have recorded the speeds.

The insurer admitted there had been errors and offered him £300 in compensation.

It claimed the first issue was due to a software update and the second was caused by a GPS problem. It insisted that the black box itself had not been inaccurate.

But the Ombudsman said this was ‘irrelevant’ and, upholding the complaint, wrote: ‘The fact is, and RSA have admitted, that inaccurate data led to [the driver] being penalised because of the system installed by RSA.’

Another motorist complained about the Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Company of Europe after his black box incorrectly recorded him as speeding for several months.

He told the Ombudsman that his consistent ‘red scores’ had led to arguments with his father.

The insurer eventually confirmed that the readings had been wrong, restored his bonus miles and offered him £200 in compensation.

Advantage Insurance, the underwriter for Hastings Direct, also admitted that it had incorrectly recorded one of its policyholders as speeding. The customer had received several warnings from the firm about his low score and was eventually told that his policy would be cancelled.

The driver went on to cancel the policy himself, but told Advantage he was concerned about the accuracy of his telematics device when it refused to refund his £210 deposit.

During an Ombudsman investigation, Advantage admitted that speed limits on roads had changed and the motorist had been wrongly penalised as a result. It was told to pay £75 compensation.

Insurance expert Tim Kelly, the director of the website Motor Claim Guru, says: ‘Too often, insurers will immediately cancel someone’s policy if a black box records a major incident, without offering them the chance to challenge the accuracy of the data. Insurance firms should be carrying out due diligence to ensure the technology of the devices is accurate.’

An Association of British Insurers spokesman says: ‘Insurers and drivers naturally want to ensure telematicsbased technology is as accurate as possible. If a motorist is unhappy with their device and believes the information recorded is inaccurate, they should speak to their insurer, who should investigate.’

A spokesman for RSA says More Than’s Smart Wheels policy receives overwhelmingly positive feedback, adding: ‘We seek to learn from all complaints and we’re always striving to improve both our products and services for our policyholders.’

A Southern Rock spokesman says: ‘The providers of the telematics box have confirmed that the box would not provide inaccurate data.’

Spokesmen for Advantage and Aioi Nissay Dowa did not wish to comment further.