Are dashcams actually worth it?
Discussion
Been doing a lot of research on these things. From what I gather there’s 3 types of insurance claim. Fault, no fault and notification. Your premiums can go up after any of these.
Right, so someone drives into your parked car and you have no idea who it was. You claim against your insurance etc etc. You obviously have to cop the excess. With dashcam footage you give it to insurer/police and potentially the third party is identified and if insured, insurer is contacted and could accept liability based off footage. So you save the excess charge and a no fault claim is recorded. Here’s the thing. Your own premium will still probably go up the following year anyway, as you’ve made a claim, even if it was no fault. So it may for minor scrapes be worth just copping the cost yourself. Obviously not if it’s a lot of damage.
The other argument is it protects your NCD. But a lot of people protect their NCDs. And that protection applies even with a fault claim. So given your insurance will likely go up regardless of fault, apart from an excess saving (which maybe offset by premium rise) what are you saving with a dashcam? Apart from “getting one over” on the perpetrator who bumped your car and drove off, is there much benefit to carrying a device that could also be used against yourself one day?
Edit: removal of “rosey glow”, seems to have been misconstrued
Right, so someone drives into your parked car and you have no idea who it was. You claim against your insurance etc etc. You obviously have to cop the excess. With dashcam footage you give it to insurer/police and potentially the third party is identified and if insured, insurer is contacted and could accept liability based off footage. So you save the excess charge and a no fault claim is recorded. Here’s the thing. Your own premium will still probably go up the following year anyway, as you’ve made a claim, even if it was no fault. So it may for minor scrapes be worth just copping the cost yourself. Obviously not if it’s a lot of damage.
The other argument is it protects your NCD. But a lot of people protect their NCDs. And that protection applies even with a fault claim. So given your insurance will likely go up regardless of fault, apart from an excess saving (which maybe offset by premium rise) what are you saving with a dashcam? Apart from “getting one over” on the perpetrator who bumped your car and drove off, is there much benefit to carrying a device that could also be used against yourself one day?
Edit: removal of “rosey glow”, seems to have been misconstrued
Edited by Buggyjam on Sunday 17th December 21:35
So not a lot of love for dash cams so far .
I considered one, only after I was involved in helping someone who’s car got smacked in a hit and run. I’d have absolutely zero, zilch interest in using one for anything other than sorting out insurance stuff after an accident. Can’t work out those Dashcam heroes. Worse are the vigilante cyclists!
But. After reading about the way the insurance system doesn’t reward not at fault makes me wonder if all it’s doing is doing the insurers Donkey work for them. You’ll still pay more in premiums regardless.
. I considered one, only after I was involved in helping someone who’s car got smacked in a hit and run. I’d have absolutely zero, zilch interest in using one for anything other than sorting out insurance stuff after an accident. Can’t work out those Dashcam heroes. Worse are the vigilante cyclists!
But. After reading about the way the insurance system doesn’t reward not at fault makes me wonder if all it’s doing is doing the insurers Donkey work for them. You’ll still pay more in premiums regardless.
Blaster72 said:
If you're worrying about it being "used against yourself" you have to think - do you drive so badly that needs to concern you?
I have one and have never experienced this "rosy glow" you talk of. Maybe that's reserved for the knob ends who post up normal traffic from their dash cam in outraged youtube videos.
Why so anti - I don't get it.
Keep calm. I was joking about the rosey glow I have one and have never experienced this "rosy glow" you talk of. Maybe that's reserved for the knob ends who post up normal traffic from their dash cam in outraged youtube videos.
Why so anti - I don't get it.
. Just used to highlight i was struggling to work out the benefits when looked at in detail.As for worrying about it being used against me. Well, I’d like to think I’m quite a careful driver. But wouldn’t we all say that? Perhaps the difference between me and the next man is I admit I’m human and make mistakes.
I’m not anti at all. You’ve taken this out of context and over the top, it’s a discussion about pros and cons. If one can’t talk the pros and cons of something then what’s the world come to?
From what I can gather, regardless of whether your insurer rolls over and accepts fault or not you’ll still prob pay in increased premiums the following year, even for a no fault clear cut claim. It’s the insurance companies who make the real saving when no fault is accepted (they prefer the other firm to pay out of course). I guess the difference will be how much the premiums increase in each case. As perhaps a premium increase after a fault claim would be a lot more than after a no fault claim. I don’t know. In that case it would make a saving.
Blaster72 said:
Fair enough, you can't however fit a device to protect you against poor drivers but not expect it to be used in cases where you might make similar mistakes.
If you struggle to see the benefits are looking in detail at dashcams then probably you don't need one.
Here's one example of how they can be useful
https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/fleet-industry-ne...
Sorry if I misconstrued the intent of your original post, I read it as yet another attempt to denigrate everyone who chooses to fit a dashcam.
No worries at all. I didn’t realise I’d kicked the preverbial hornets nest on this subject If you struggle to see the benefits are looking in detail at dashcams then probably you don't need one.
Here's one example of how they can be useful
https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/fleet-industry-ne...
Sorry if I misconstrued the intent of your original post, I read it as yet another attempt to denigrate everyone who chooses to fit a dashcam.
Edited by Blaster72 on Sunday 17th December 21:28
in fact wasn’t even aware there was this pack hate of them. Seems so reading some replies. Everyday is a school day so they say. Well I am open to them. After reading the highly polar views not sure I’d be that keen on the negative conotations attached to having one fitted ha. I’ve got a small sporty car so hopefully doesn’t fit with the DCW image. I’d only want peace of mind after a couple of events this year.
I didn’t say I don’t expect it to be used against me. just pointed out it’s a risk it could. And that’s a truth. And I make no apologies for preferring not to like any human we all make mistakes. Fact is I’d be using it for things after an accident. When something has happened to my car. The downside is it can be used against you as some sort of reverse police device. If plod want to pull you over, take a look and decide you’re not driving perfectly. And show me anyone who says they’re a perfect driver and I’ll show you a phibber.
Edited by Buggyjam on Sunday 17th December 21:53
Blaster72 said:
Another thing to consider is where you live and your normal driving routes, I live close to Heathrow and regularly drive all over London hence my choice to fit a dash cam. I guess if you live at the back of beyond and don't encounter the same kind of driving standards it might not be worthwhile investing in one.
There is a pack dislike of them on here, mainly I think fuelled by adenoidal knob ends posting minor traffic mishaps you see everyday on the roads on youtube and trying to make something out of it. Mine is installed with the hope I'll never have to look at any of the footage let alone use it to protect myself but it's there just in case all the same.
Yeah good point, I drive near Belfast. I live just outside it. Driving standard just seems normal to me. Not mega bad but still mishaps. You seem less likely to have psycho road rage events here. It’s more the standard people pulling out on you, car parks are a nightmare for getting clipped, same as everywhere. Misses got hit by a crash for cash scammer last year though. There is a pack dislike of them on here, mainly I think fuelled by adenoidal knob ends posting minor traffic mishaps you see everyday on the roads on youtube and trying to make something out of it. Mine is installed with the hope I'll never have to look at any of the footage let alone use it to protect myself but it's there just in case all the same.
I looked on 911uk forum and they seem more receptive to dash cams there than here. I can’t stand those heroes of any type who post on cam footage on YouTube. The so called vigilante cyclists in particular make my blood curdle with rage. There’s just something, I don’t know, yucky about people getting a sick hobbyist pleasure of handing footage into police, only to dress it up as being for some sort of greater good. I guess I see through the emporer’s New clothes. It gives them a kick, that’s the real reason. I think the police should be discouraging this sort of thing, not encouraging it, but what do I know.
But back to the cameras. Is it a risk having them stolen? I mean, do people actually pinch these things? The ones I’ve seen have various lights on which I could see would be some sort of visual deterrent if someone say were to key your car. But then they may just knick the camera too
Ron99 said:
Almost two years ago, someone reversed into my then-two-year-old car in a car park, causing £2.5k of damage. Without a dashcam it would have looked like I rear-ended them and at best I would have got a 50/50 outcome, if not my insurer just rolling over and accepting the probabilities were that it was a rear-ending rather than being reversed into.
The following day my insurer had viewed the dashcam video declared me to be not at fault and put a 'no fault' claim on my record.
A few weeks later my insurance was up for renewal and there was negligible difference from the previous year.
Out of curiosity, I priced-up online quotes just to see the difference between 'no fault' and 'at fault'. My insurance was about £375 for 20k per year but would triple if the claim had been 'at fault'.
Our household runs multiple cars (usually three or four) so that would have worked out to between £2000-£2500/yr more in total for insurance. Over the four-year declaration period that could have been close to £10k more for insurance.
So a dashcam potentially saved me a fortune (policy excess and four years of higher premiums on multiple cars). It also saved my sanity because it would have been horrible if I had been blamed for something I didn't do.
As for telling tales on other drivers, I do that maybe once every two years (40k miles).
In 2014 I reported a taxi for dangerous driving (nearly had a head-on with them as they came charging round a blind bend on the wrong side of the road).
In 2016 I reported an HGV for trying to run me off the road.
This is exactly the kind of thing I was wondering, thanks for sharing. So, it does look like the benefits stack up. The following day my insurer had viewed the dashcam video declared me to be not at fault and put a 'no fault' claim on my record.
A few weeks later my insurance was up for renewal and there was negligible difference from the previous year.
Out of curiosity, I priced-up online quotes just to see the difference between 'no fault' and 'at fault'. My insurance was about £375 for 20k per year but would triple if the claim had been 'at fault'.
Our household runs multiple cars (usually three or four) so that would have worked out to between £2000-£2500/yr more in total for insurance. Over the four-year declaration period that could have been close to £10k more for insurance.
So a dashcam potentially saved me a fortune (policy excess and four years of higher premiums on multiple cars). It also saved my sanity because it would have been horrible if I had been blamed for something I didn't do.
As for telling tales on other drivers, I do that maybe once every two years (40k miles).
In 2014 I reported a taxi for dangerous driving (nearly had a head-on with them as they came charging round a blind bend on the wrong side of the road).
In 2016 I reported an HGV for trying to run me off the road.
Edited by Ron99 on Sunday 17th December 23:08
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