Young drivers are often forced to pay over the odds for car insurance, due to their relative inexperience and perceived exuberance behind the wheel. But many are now turning to technology to help reduce their premiums.
Forward-thinking insurance companies are offering cheaper premiums to drivers who are willing to install GPS-style telematics technology that can monitor their driving habits.
The telematics boxes, which are about the size of a mobile phone, are fitted under the dashboard and use GPS technology to determine a driver's speed and the speed limit of the road they're travelling on. They also use accelerometers to determine the force at which a driver corners, brakes and accelerates.
This data is sent via GSM/GPRS technology to the insurance company. The company can then determine how well you drive and, consequently, how much you should be paying for insurance.
The telematics boxes also monitor distance travelled, allowing you to buy pay as you go insurance. They can work as tracking devices too, enabling your insurance company to locate your car in the event it's stolen.
Several insurance companies are already using telematics boxes. InsureTheBox offers a pay as you go insurance package, with good drivers earning additional bonus miles each month. The company will install its Clear Box telematics system a week or so after you take up your policy.
Insurer i-kube doesn't charge by the mile, instead offering fully comprehensive cover to young drivers as long as they don't drive between the hours of 11pm and 5am. The box is installed at a cost of £249, which is included in the cost of your premium. Those who break the driving curfew are charged an additional £100 per night.
Coverbox, meanwhile, allows you to choose from a range of insurers, including The Co-operative, Sabre and Allianz, but charges you depending on the time you spend driving and the distance covered, with rush-hour driving being the most pricey.
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Anonymous 31 January, 2011 15:55
I was looking into these GPS insurance deals when I was 17 and looking for insurance last year but I still found it cheaper to get put on your parents insurance as a named driver!
anonymous 31 January, 2011 18:15
Am I the only one who gets worried about a private company knowing all of our whereabouts?
I'm sorry but I can't understand anyone who would want to be tracked 18 hours a day.
I love tech as much as the next guy, but my privacy is my privacy.
adamm255 1 February, 2011 17:43
Maybe they should just re work the whole system. I'm 20 and have been driving for almost 3 years. I have had no accidents, no claims and I still have to pay £800 a year. I have no other choice to drive to uni and work. I think that insurance should be cheaper until you claim when your under 21, then it skyrockets.
Its a total joke. Also, why do older people get cheap insurance?? Surely that due to the affects of aging on reaction times, insurance prices should go up when you get older (like over 70)??