Telematics/black box for new driver
Discussion
Just trying to get some real-world experiences of this I really.
My daughter is 18 and passed her test early Sept. She’s currently at Uni but her course involves a fair number of placements and for years 2 and 3 even more so so she’ll move home for those as they can be done locally.
I’m looking to get her a car fairly soon, most likely a Fiat 500 because she’s set her heart on one and, like her Mum, that’s the end of that conversation.
My question is really whether having a policy with Telematics/Black box is worth the saving vs the potential for further costs down the line. She’s quite risk-averse and isn’t one for speed anyway but I’m just trying to weigh up the options.
Quotes range from £800 (with it) to £1100 (without).
TIA!
My daughter is 18 and passed her test early Sept. She’s currently at Uni but her course involves a fair number of placements and for years 2 and 3 even more so so she’ll move home for those as they can be done locally.
I’m looking to get her a car fairly soon, most likely a Fiat 500 because she’s set her heart on one and, like her Mum, that’s the end of that conversation.
My question is really whether having a policy with Telematics/Black box is worth the saving vs the potential for further costs down the line. She’s quite risk-averse and isn’t one for speed anyway but I’m just trying to weigh up the options.
Quotes range from £800 (with it) to £1100 (without).
TIA!
Be aware that a lot of telematics policies are effectively pay per mile. You go over agreed mileage and the bills can get hefty. When my son was that age he was quoted a very cheap £1000 but when he went over the 2000 miles they wanted over £3000 for an additional 2000 miles. Ask the right questions so you don’t get caught out.
fatjon said:
Be aware that a lot of telematics policies are effectively pay per mile. You go over agreed mileage and the bills can get hefty. When my son was that age he was quoted a very cheap £1000 but when he went over the 2000 miles they wanted over £3000 for an additional 2000 miles. Ask the right questions so you don’t get caught out.
Especially on the placements question... even if she isn't being paid... and potentially multiple locations?My lad had one fitted for 3 years, first year 2018-19 (fresh 17yo) with more than at about £1k. Daft app to track speed and other crap where we could see where he was driving and what time. They did offer a refund for decent score but I thought it was a gimmic. He was angelic and got a £50 refund after a year.
Then the past two years with Tesco.
The 2nd year with Tesco was crazy cheap (I assume due to his driving in the 1st year) £650 v all others still £1k. Recently in his 4 year of driving with 2 years no claims he is without a box now as the price has stabilised.
One weird thing with tesco is that advisory speed limit (triangles) sometimes alert to speeding and one spot he was caught daily, as it was his route home, until we gave them footage of the sign etc and they dismissed them all. This was in his 1st year with them and didn't affect his renewal premium.
Edit. Car is a 2013 fiesta 1.6 tdci titanium.
Then the past two years with Tesco.
The 2nd year with Tesco was crazy cheap (I assume due to his driving in the 1st year) £650 v all others still £1k. Recently in his 4 year of driving with 2 years no claims he is without a box now as the price has stabilised.
One weird thing with tesco is that advisory speed limit (triangles) sometimes alert to speeding and one spot he was caught daily, as it was his route home, until we gave them footage of the sign etc and they dismissed them all. This was in his 1st year with them and didn't affect his renewal premium.
Edit. Car is a 2013 fiesta 1.6 tdci titanium.
Edited by TheDrownedApe on Thursday 18th November 20:50
Both my daughters, 19 and 17, have a black box policy with Admiral through Money Supermarket. Costs £700 - 900 ish, Fiat 500 and Kia Picanto, both are sensible drivers, no accidents etc.
In both cases after a few months, Admiral emailed them to say they were happy with their driving and to send the box back.
If you're a good driver the box will confirm it so on our experience I'd recommend one.
In both cases after a few months, Admiral emailed them to say they were happy with their driving and to send the box back.
If you're a good driver the box will confirm it so on our experience I'd recommend one.
Thanks all. That’s really helpful.
The placements will be one location, usually the same one across the second year and same again for the third. It’s a straight driving to one place and then being there for the day. The quotes I have do had commuting added already.
I’m minded to go for the box as it’ll help make sure she keeps sensible (which I think she will be anyway).
The placements will be one location, usually the same one across the second year and same again for the third. It’s a straight driving to one place and then being there for the day. The quotes I have do had commuting added already.
I’m minded to go for the box as it’ll help make sure she keeps sensible (which I think she will be anyway).
Both of my boys went with insure the box for their first two years.
They reward good driving in the form of bonus miles (up to 100 per month) and you get can up to 10k miles (with a reasonable cost top up after that).
There’s no app to use and the black box is free. Enforcement is pretty lightweight - you get an email suggesting you should slow down a little. They do say they’ll cancel if you keep being silly though.
First car was a fiesta 1.2 which started at about £1100 for the first year.
Second son sold the fiesta on his 18th birthday and got a 220i coupe and now his second year with them dropped to £700 and they gave him 20k miles.
Quotes for the beemer without a box were about £2.5k.
Point to note is that they don’t allow any modifications at all and won’t come up on the comparison sites if you put an annual mileage above 10k - doesn’t stop you buying more though.
They reward good driving in the form of bonus miles (up to 100 per month) and you get can up to 10k miles (with a reasonable cost top up after that).
There’s no app to use and the black box is free. Enforcement is pretty lightweight - you get an email suggesting you should slow down a little. They do say they’ll cancel if you keep being silly though.
First car was a fiesta 1.2 which started at about £1100 for the first year.
Second son sold the fiesta on his 18th birthday and got a 220i coupe and now his second year with them dropped to £700 and they gave him 20k miles.
Quotes for the beemer without a box were about £2.5k.
Point to note is that they don’t allow any modifications at all and won’t come up on the comparison sites if you put an annual mileage above 10k - doesn’t stop you buying more though.
Edited by Paulduckworth on Friday 19th November 09:05
Edited by Paulduckworth on Friday 19th November 09:06
Edited by Paulduckworth on Friday 19th November 09:07
t behind the wheel at 17 and so were all my mates. Hypocrisy, maybe, but I'd rather my kids didn't behave like I did in a car, especially with the increased traffic and vehicle performance these days.My daughter was with Direct Line for 2 years. The black box just plugged into the OBD port as a dongle. It was a few hundred cheaper.
It was a standard policy so she could drive whatever miles she chose,and for whatever purpose she chose (just like normal insurance)
You use an app to track how well you've doing. Intially she was paranoid and tried to improve her score. By the second year she was driving like a normal person (too agressive if anything) and she's had no warnings or additional costs from DD.
On interesting thing is it seems to measure relative speed rather than knowing the speed limits on roads. Going a few miles over like most people didn't trigger any reduction in score.
On the flip side even if you start the car on the drive it will trigger a journey and a score. I managed to get some low scores just by firing the car up to de-ice it. The score was triggered by the time of day, and our road being busy (rush hour)
Same when it went into the garage. Multiple "journeys" of zero miles recorded as it was in and out of the workshop.
It was a standard policy so she could drive whatever miles she chose,and for whatever purpose she chose (just like normal insurance)
You use an app to track how well you've doing. Intially she was paranoid and tried to improve her score. By the second year she was driving like a normal person (too agressive if anything) and she's had no warnings or additional costs from DD.
On interesting thing is it seems to measure relative speed rather than knowing the speed limits on roads. Going a few miles over like most people didn't trigger any reduction in score.
On the flip side even if you start the car on the drive it will trigger a journey and a score. I managed to get some low scores just by firing the car up to de-ice it. The score was triggered by the time of day, and our road being busy (rush hour)
Same when it went into the garage. Multiple "journeys" of zero miles recorded as it was in and out of the workshop.
FYI if price is a factor, FIAT 500s do seem to be the "must have" thing for new female drivers....however, I think they start around Insurance Group 5 so do you research on model / insurance groups. It can make a big difference
Got my lad a VW Up!
Great car that even I like to drive.....and even as the "Beats" model is only Insurance Group 3 from memory.
Got my lad a VW Up!
Great car that even I like to drive.....and even as the "Beats" model is only Insurance Group 3 from memory.
Will the car be used by other drivers other than the young policy holder?
I know of at least one youngster who had his insurance cancelled as a result of his dad jumping in the car and forgetting it had a black box and driving in a manner that was outside the parameters that were acceptable to the insurance company.
When the winglet had a black box equiped car for his first year the other drivers on the policy had to play the game as well on the odd occasion when they used the car.
Think outside the box for a first car, some are a lot less to insure than you might think as the hoards gravitate to the usual go to first cars, Fiesta, Polo, corsa, fiat 500 and the like, so young inexpereinced drivers make their mistakes in them in big numbers so they attract the appropriate insurance costs.
Alfa Romeo Mitos and not too new Suzuki Swifts might be a pleasant surprise insurance wise and both are perhaps are not in the main the first port of call for a first driver in big numbers.
The winglet has had a 1.4 Mito 95bhp for three years (starting at 17 years, £700 once he passed his test) and has just moved on to a 170 cloverleaf version, the insurance wasn't much more expensive for a mere 19.8 year old for the more powerful version
I know of at least one youngster who had his insurance cancelled as a result of his dad jumping in the car and forgetting it had a black box and driving in a manner that was outside the parameters that were acceptable to the insurance company.
When the winglet had a black box equiped car for his first year the other drivers on the policy had to play the game as well on the odd occasion when they used the car.
Think outside the box for a first car, some are a lot less to insure than you might think as the hoards gravitate to the usual go to first cars, Fiesta, Polo, corsa, fiat 500 and the like, so young inexpereinced drivers make their mistakes in them in big numbers so they attract the appropriate insurance costs.
Alfa Romeo Mitos and not too new Suzuki Swifts might be a pleasant surprise insurance wise and both are perhaps are not in the main the first port of call for a first driver in big numbers.
The winglet has had a 1.4 Mito 95bhp for three years (starting at 17 years, £700 once he passed his test) and has just moved on to a 170 cloverleaf version, the insurance wasn't much more expensive for a mere 19.8 year old for the more powerful version
Edited by Wingo on Friday 19th November 11:14
TwigtheWonderkid said:
There's a lot of hatred on PH for black boxes but the truth is, for young drivers, they work. The reason insurers offer lower premiums isn't altruism, it's because they have fewer claims to pay out for, and the claims they do have, happen at a lower speed and cost less.
I don't get it either.What parent wouldn't want their kids to drive sensibly and smoothly? Is it hypocritical given most people on this site probably learned to drive when they weren't even a thing? Sure, but that's what happens when you grow out of your teens - you come to appreciate why your parents were "so annoying".
I'm convinced people moaning about them disappear down the thin end of the wedge rabbit hole and start talking about how "it'll be mandatory on all cars next year" (it's always next year, even though black boxes have been around for ages now).
Black boxes aren't without fault or understanding of context, etc, but in the main they do their job well. They reduce insurance costs significantly (usually for parents who end up paying) and habituate their children to be conscious of aggressive or careless driving. I'm struggling to see a downside to that.
My son ended up upsidedown in a ditch.
As soon as it happened, I received an emergency call from the black box company, telling me that something untoward had happened.
After an extremely worrying few minutes, I was eventually able to establish that he was OK.
As cynical as I am about black boxes, I was naturally extremely grateful that it had been fitted in this case.
And the following year, his premium went down, nonetheless!
As soon as it happened, I received an emergency call from the black box company, telling me that something untoward had happened.
After an extremely worrying few minutes, I was eventually able to establish that he was OK.
As cynical as I am about black boxes, I was naturally extremely grateful that it had been fitted in this case.
And the following year, his premium went down, nonetheless!
They are good and bad, black boxes, as comments on here elude to.
I think it is worth having a good think first, my opinion is that once you have got one, you will do well to get rid of it all your driving life.
It's not the idea of gettng a warning for speeding etc, that's easy to deal with. But just the mere fact that it is another avenue for "someone" to fund out what you are doing, where you are going, when you are in, when you are out, etc. Who knows how scrupulous the telematics companies are now and how they will be in the future.
Personally, i will try to avoid them for my kids in a year or two, but lets see how easy it is!
I think it is worth having a good think first, my opinion is that once you have got one, you will do well to get rid of it all your driving life.
It's not the idea of gettng a warning for speeding etc, that's easy to deal with. But just the mere fact that it is another avenue for "someone" to fund out what you are doing, where you are going, when you are in, when you are out, etc. Who knows how scrupulous the telematics companies are now and how they will be in the future.
Personally, i will try to avoid them for my kids in a year or two, but lets see how easy it is!
fatjon said:
Be aware that a lot of telematics policies are effectively pay per mile. You go over agreed mileage and the bills can get hefty. When my son was that age he was quoted a very cheap £1000 but when he went over the 2000 miles they wanted over £3000 for an additional 2000 miles. Ask the right questions so you don’t get caught out.
I hope you complained about that and took it to the ombudsmanWingo said:
I know of at least one youngster who had his insurance cancelled as a result of his dad jumping in the car and forgetting it had a black box and driving in a manner that was outside the parameters that were acceptable to the insurance company.
Strange as most of these firms have policies of a warning system. Three strikes and you're out.Black boxes are great. The kids have to drive within parameters agreed beforehand.
Mileage can be an issue. First year you have to guess and on the policy my eldest was on they had to pay £100 to gain 1,000 miles.
Not widely known so far is that Bell request the box back after six months if you behave yourself.
Mileage can be an issue. First year you have to guess and on the policy my eldest was on they had to pay £100 to gain 1,000 miles.
Not widely known so far is that Bell request the box back after six months if you behave yourself.
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