Is black box insurance worth it

[tylerdurden]

cheapest quote for me was admiral black box. About £160 cheaper

At the end of they year do you earn a NCD like any other insurance? Therefore your free to move?

Does BB data get shared amongst different insurers?

Is the black box a big clunky thing that looks unsightly in your dream car?

Anyway just wanted some advice

 

[Dippo]

The thing that worries me about black box insurance is the ever increasing number of 20 mph speed limits. No-one seems to drive at 20 in them - the type of driver who respects other limits seems to do about 25. Would all that count as a massive crime in the eyes of the insurance company, and result in higher charges?

 

[tylerdurden]

I agree about 20 mph.

it’s a painfully slow speed.

fine by schools but why not at open/close times during term time.

 

[SarahAnn200]

Are you a young driver who is trying to reduce your premium?
I think the device is hidden under the bonnet. I vaguely remember seeing something about it on tv.
It seems very 'big brother'

 

[zipdip]

Well the black boxes are aimed at young drivers but I suppose any driver can have them fitted ,the boxes are very small and take no time to fit,and yes it will bring insurance down,but there are downsides,look online and see what is the best insurance black box,one to avoid is MoreThan,I have heard the Tesco insurance is decent,but it will know if you exceed the speed limit,they even know for instance if you do a run quicker than the road conditions say you should,even if you do not speed,also sudden braking can also trigger messages from the insurerers,if they decide to withdraw your insurance because of what the black box has told them it opens a whole can of worms for you getting other insurance,it all has to be weighed up,if you are going to save say £500 then ok and drive very carefully,if just a couple of hundred I would not get one.

 

[Bellow]

Do I/you really want my/your cornering G to be observed/recorded?
It isn't that my G are excessive - just higher than the average driver's. And everything is calculated around averages.

 

[st13phil]

Do I/you really want my/your cornering G to be observed/recorded?
It isn't that my G are excessive - just higher than the average driver's. And everything is calculated around averages.

On that basis you should drag the average up a bit then

More seriously, I'm not really comfortable about insurers closely monitoring aspects of our lives so that they can "charge an appropriate premium". The whole point of insurance is that the risk is spread far and wide, and the more narrow the targeting becomes regarding risk groups, the more likelihood there is that we generate an "uninsurable underclass". This is particularly true of health and life insurance - which is why DNA data shouldn't ever be made available to insurers - but is also true in other areas.

"Black box" policies for young drivers are, in my opinion, the thin end of a very thick wedge. The fact that an experienced driver is even considering it as an option suggests that attitudes are changing and that we're sleep-walking into a potentially very bad place.

 

[Teego]

I won't have MercedesMe either.

 

[Bellow]

It's a few years ago now (which should be all the more disconcerting) but a friend living and working in Norway had a company car with a mandatory black box. Not at the behest of insurers (not say there wasn't a desire to drive down premiums though) but his employer Schlumberger.
If/when he exceeded pre-set thresholds, it woke up and reported - to HR to be recorded on his employment service. The thresholds were in no way high.

 

[m80]

f/when he exceeded pre-set thresholds, it woke up and reported - to HR

It'd be nice if these were fitted to some of the wagons around here.
Sorry a bit off topic.

I wouldn't want one and I cruise at 58mph, but not in London.

 

[st13phil]

...a friend living and working in Norway had a company car with a mandatory black box. Not at the behest of insurers (not say there wasn't a desire to drive down premiums though) but his employer Schlumberger.
If/when he exceeded pre-set thresholds, it woke up and reported - to HR to be recorded on his employment service.

This to me is more of a grey area. The three points that immediately come to mind are:

1. A company car is a company asset, and as such they are entitled to put whatever restrictions upon its use they like;
2. If the company car is being driven on company business then there are various H&S duty of care burdens to the employee and others placed on the employer by law, so in that respect it may be reasonable to undertake some sort of monitoring;
3. Other employers are available

 

[Abbz]

My daughter has one fitted. Self install just stuck on window. 1st car having just passed her test and brought insurance down from 2k to 1k. She has an app on her phone that updates every Monday telling her mileage and grade of driving. So far all good. Policy clearly stated if seen to be a bad driver they can cancel policy

 

[markjay]

Well the black boxes are aimed at young drivers but I suppose any driver can have them fitted....

I have some insider knowledge of the industry, and as zipdip said it's a very effective way of bringing-down the premiums considerably for new drivers, while still allowing them to start collecting their NCD as policy holder and main driver of the vehicle.

The potential saving is in the hundreds, sometimes even thousands. Plus the existence of the black box and the feedback mechanism puts positive pressure on the young drive to drive legally and moderately.

It's important to note that the black box does not just log traffic offences, it also logs harsh acceleration, sharp braking, and turning (lateral G).

Ask yourself this: if your 18 years old son or daughter just passed their driving test, wouldn't you prefer them to be driving a car fitted with a black box?

With other type of drivers though, the saving won't be as significant and therefore there's no real incentive to have these fitted.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

A friends son has just insured his first car - a MINI Cooper - and the insurer insisted on a black box. Apparently it plugs into the OBD port and connects to his phone by Bluetooth.

 

[tylerdurden]

I’m about to turn 50! The car is high value.

was really surprised to be offered a BB policy but it keeps coming up as cheapest in comparison sites.

This is a new policy on an additional car so will be 0 NCD.

 

[Teego]

I’m about to turn 50! The car is high value.

was really surprised to be offered a BB policy but it keeps coming up as cheapest in comparison sites.

This is a new policy on an additional car so will be 0 NCD.

Try a multicar policy like LV= before committing to a spy in the cab.

 

[GeeJayW]

Not worth it to me. Fully get why they are doing it, but have no wish to have a 'spy in the cab'. We had such data loggers in our test cars and whilst useful, using them to 'police' the way our cars were driven was fraught with a number of issues. One issue was speed calibration and which version of vehicle speed is being displayed to the driver and which is being recorded by the box.

Bottom line for me, not a fan!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Given that the premium value is set at the beginning of the “insured” year and not at the end, I suspect that the biggest benefit to the insurance company is that the driver is less likely to take unnecessary risks with a black box fitted, and is therefore less likely to end up claiming. Data from the black box is only useful in determining the premium for the following year.

Unless of course the term is less than a year, if your premium can increase month by month then the data could be useful to the insurer.

 

[Flyinspanner]

Read the small print, there are ‘limits’ and if you exceed your policy gets cancelled. After which getting another policy may be difficult without great expense

 

[neilod]

Hi,,I have just changed my 16 plate 200 Diesel Sport C Class for an 18 plate 2,0 Litre Diesel Coupe with the Amg kit..Insurance Nightmare..My Insurance has went from £700 a year to £1400..Could hardly get a company to insure me but the ones I have found want to install a Black Box..I can't believe it...They are telling me its a high performance car,,fps,,it's not exactly a Ferrari..