The cost of owning and running a car can be very high, particularly for young and new drivers. It is because of this that drivers are looking for ways to help make these costs more manageable, with many turning to telematics to help.
The popularity of telematics car insurance policies is rising fast, with over 450,000 black box policies now ongoing in the UK alone. According to the latest statistics from the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) there has been a 40% increase in black box telematics car insurance policies in the past year. Auto Express say that this means the total number of black box policies has soared from just 12,000 back in 2009 to almost half a million nowadays.
Graeme Trudgill, executive director at BIBA, said: “We are delighted to see these figures increasing, the benefits of a greater take-up of telematics technology are many: – more affordable premiums, safer roads, reduced uninsured driving and increase personal safely because some even operate as breakdown locator.”
Black box insurance works by monitoring a number of different driving factors in order to work out how safe someone is on the road. When it comes to insurethebox telematics policies, the black box technology we fit to your car provides the following information:
- The time of day, or night, that you drive
- The speed you drive at, and on what sorts of road you drive
- Whether or not you brake or accelerate sharply
- How much you drive on motorways
- Your total mileage
- The total number of journeys you make
- Whether or not you take breaks when you go on long journeys.
Why black box insurance?
According to the BIBA research, “these types of policies can offer savings of up to 25% for careful drivers. In particular, young drivers who often struggle to find affordable cover can save over £1,000.”
Telematics policies are designed to reward careful drivers with lower premiums or additional bonuses. Here at insurethebox we use black box technology to reward safe drivers with monthly Bonus Miles and the potential to save money when it comes to renewal.
Also we can help to locate your car if it is stolen, and help you if you are in an accident with our Accident Alert service. Find out more about the benefits of black box insurance from insurethebox.
Young drivers seeing the benefits
Mr. Trudgill from BIBA said: “Telematics is becoming the motor insurance solution of choice among young drivers as they can take control of their own premiums by electing to have their driving behaviour monitored.
Industry statistics show there is a 40% drop in crash risk when a new driver has a telematics policy. Telematics equipment also helps reduce theft claims, many doubling as vehicle tracker devices.”
According to The Telegraph, the BIBA study was followed by a report from Consumer Intelligence, a research firm, which found that car insurance premiums overall had seen a sharp rise. They found that the average increase across all groups was 13%, to around £683. However, with younger drivers – those aged under 25 – a smaller increase of 9.3% to £1,600 was seen in the year to February.
Consumer Intelligence, using data from the Office for National Statistics, said: “Younger drivers are benefiting from the growth in black box technology – so-called telematics, with nearly half of the most competitive quotes for under-25s coming from telematics providers.”
“Younger drivers are seeing the benefits of the innovation in the market such as black box policies and that is reversing the massive increases seen at the turn of the decade,” said Ian Hughes, chief executive of Consumer Intelligence. “Under-25s who pay the highest average premiums at £1,600 need to seriously look at black box technology as a way of limiting price rises.”