Black box car insurance or telematics car insurance is a great way for a new or young driver to save money on car insurance!
They’ve been around for a while, and I get it – car insurance is expensive.
If only you could save hundreds of money on car insurance each and every year right?
Well now there is, thanks to black box car insurance.
This kind of insurance policy involves a small enclosed box that will fit to your car and track your driving data allowing you to potentially get cheaper insurance for being a great driver!
Do I Really Need Car Insurance?
The question you might be asking yourself is whether you need car insurance in the first place?
Put simply, yes.
Without insurance you won’t be able to drive on public roads, you’d be breaking the law and could get a hefty fine plus penalty points.
That brings us to the idea of what car insurance actually is then doesn’t it…
In the event of a potential car collision, someone has to pay for the potential damage done to your vehicle and/or the other vehicle…
This is where the car insurance company comes in, they will pay for the damage or replace your car if it’s considered a write off.
You see, without car insurance, you won’t be able to drive your car on the road, it’s absolutely critical that you get car insurance, and I know I mentioned this point above, but I thought I’d reiterate it given the importance.
How Does Black Box Car Insurance Work?
There are many types of car insurance policies, these typically include single car and multi car policies.
Multi car policies are often advertised as being cheaper – but for new or young drivers, these are very expensive policies.
You might’ve paid a few thousand pounds for you car and are seeing car insurance that is going to cost you a few thousand – just the same amount as the car!
I was in that situation as well, my first car costed £1,200 and my car insurance was £1,800…
But here’s the thing…
That was with a black box car insurance policy, the other policies would’ve been at least £2,500.
So I did technically save money – and you can too!
Black box car insurance is a way of tracking your driving and monitoring it digitally through the use of GPS antennas and motion sensors.
This data is collected, and sent to the black box insurer where they can analysis your driving and make assumptions, in doing so you could save on your car insurance by being a better and safer driver.
What Does A Black Box Record?
Your black box fitted to your car is responsible for logging the following kinds of data about your driving:
- Driving style
- Speed
- Acceleration
- Braking
- Location
- Time of day
- Duration of drive
For example, if you’re driving early hours in the morning every day, this could be considered as higher risk purely because of the dark, lowered visibility and driver fatigue/tiredness.
It’s true, driving at these times of day is going to be more likely that you as the driver will be tired!
How Is A Black Box Fitted To My Car?
Fitting a black box to your car shouldn’t take too long and is done professionally.
You won’t be able to fit the black box yourself – it will be done by the car insurance company, typically within 14 days of taking out the policy.
An engineer will come out and fit the black box to a hidden location on your car.
It shouldn’t take no more than an hour to fit, depending on the make, model and weather conditions.
Black Box Car Insurance Pros And Cons
So you’re really stuck figuring out whether to take out a black box car insurance policy right?
I was too, it’s not an easy decision…
Here are some pros and cons to having black box car insurance:
Pros
- It could make you a better and safer driver.
- You might be able to save hundreds on your car insurance every year.
- Rewards for safer driving.
- Aids recovery of stolen vehicles thanks to the GPS data.
Cons
- GPS signals might not be accurate in some areas.
- Customer service with some insurers isn’t great.
- Your car insurance will increase for poor driving.
- Comparison sites might not compare them easily for you.
I’m sure there are many other pros and cons to black box insurance, and I might come back and update these as and when I think of more!
How Long Do You Have To Have A Black Box For?
The majority of car insurance policies will last 12 months or 1 year.
The same applies to black box insurance as well, but how long you have the black box insurance for will depend on you and your circumstances.
You might decide that after a year with the policy you’re happy paying a little more to get a different policy that doesn’t track your driving,
Removing The Black Box From Your Car
You might be wondering if you do take out this black box policy whether you’ll be able to remove it when you change policies?
This is something I encountered when changing policies a few years ago.
There’s actually no need to remove the black box from your car – it’s simply deactivated and left in place.
Seems a bit odd that this is the approach the insurer has chosen to take.
Speeding With Black Box Car Insurance
Having a black box fitted to your car shouldn’t cause you to suddenly change your driving style.
You might be wondering what the complications are of speeding with black box car insurance, and since 1mph over the limit would be considered as speeding will this affect your insurance?
Most black box insurers will go by averages, meaning if you consistently drive below the speed limit, going over the limit by 1 or 2mph shouldn’t have an impact.
This isn’t setting stone though, each insurer will be different.
As always, you shouldn’t be going over the limit at all in the first place.
Black Box Curfew
What about curfews?
Are you a late night worker? If so – black box insurance might not be ideal for you.
Some insurance companies that offer black box insurance will indeed put a curfew on your driving – personally I don’t agree with this, but some insurers will do this.
