Think you're a good driver? Now older motorists are urged to let insurers track - and video - driving to get cheaper insurance
- 'Dashcams' can lower premiums by as much as 15 per cent
- Driving only during daylight hours reduces risk for insurers
Even if latest industry statistics show that the cost of a motor policy is slowly coming down, it’s still an expensive outgoing, costing the average motorist £568.32 a year for comprehensive cover.
Insurers are looking to new technologies to help them offer cheaper cover. 'Telematics' car insurance has emerged in the last few years as an alternative to traditional policies.
It involves having a GPS system fitted to your car, which monitors when and how you drive. Better drivers are then underwritten on the risk they personally pose to insurers. It's even possible for insurers to use video cameras fitted to dashboards to record how you drive and catch any incidents that may be the subject of an insurance claim.
Not just for young guns: If you fancy yourself as a safe behind the wheel you could benefit from telematics - even if you were an older driver like Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson - aged 53
It’s seen as a great idea for young motorists who struggle to get insurance, particularly if they are safer drivers than their peer group. But it’s also a potential solution for older drivers too. After all, drivers aged over 50 are still paying around £382 a year on average in premiums.
Malcolm Tarling, from the Association of British Motorists told us: 'Experienced drivers can benefit from these policies, as they can be tailored to fit their driving habits, providing they shop around for policies that suit their driving habits.'
Check your driving patterns
Typically, telematics insurance suits people who are willing to adjust their driving habits so that they are not on the road at times of the day or night when accidents are more likely to happen, such as rush hour or after 11 pm.
For many older drivers such restrictions are less of a problem. If you invariably drive during the daytime or evenings, and if your driving and breaking speeds are relatively low, ‘pay-as-you-drive’ policies could prove ideal.
Graeme Trudgill, executive director of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association said: 'Telematics products have typically been the preserve of careful younger drivers as they have the highest premiums and therefore the most to gain from behaviour-based policies.
'This does not mean that older drivers cannot gain from this same technology however and our Find a Broker service has brokers who can offer discounts of around 15 per cent to those that demonstrate they are considerate and careful drivers.'
Slow and steady wins the race: Older drivers could take advantage of their safer driving habits with a telematics policy.
Pay for your driving
With or without discounts, premiums on telematics can be flexible with rewards in the form of lower payments being made by policyholders who stick within the agreed parameters.
The better you drive, the less you'll pay, while those who speed or drive outside of the prescribed hours could end up paying additional premiums.
Do you really want insurers watching you?
For all the potential benefits, some drivers will have issues relating to personal privacy. Having a GPS black box discretely installed to your vehicle allows the policy provider to monitor your movements.
If you go one further and have a dashboard camera fitted – which can prove very useful in the event of a road traffic accident – you might have concerns about how data recorded on the system is used.
A quick search on YouTube serves to illustrate how useful dashcams can be, as there are countless videos from around the world of fraudsters trying to extract money from innocent drivers by staging accidents.
Example include a young woman who ran straight at a stationary car, jumped on the bonnet and sprawled out before slipping to the ground feigning injury. When the driver confronted the crook, it only took him to point out the dashcam for the scammer to slink away, saving hours of hassle countering a spurious claim.
Dash cash: Drivers can shave more off their premiums if the fit a dashboard camera.
Cameras can help with more conventional insurance claims, helping to establish fault in the case of collisions.
Dashboard cameras are a relatively new concept in the UK and have tended to be part of telematics packages for commercial fleet services, rather than domestic drivers.
But the options are increasing for cameras which are fitted as part of the telematics process. Invariably, the customer has to pay for the camera, costing about £200, but the savings in insurance premiums is intended to make up for this cost.
Your privacy is protected
The good news is that drivers are protected under the Data Protection Act 1998. This legislation requires companies to seek active consent from their customers before passing on personal information, which could include where you visit, when and other driving habits.
Given the complexities of the Act, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has advice on this issue. The ABI makes it clear that insurers should obtain ‘opt-in’ consent from drivers if they want to share telematics data with other companies. This would include video captured on dashboard cameras.
In any event, data captured from the GPS and camera systems can only be kept and analysed for the purpose that the customer has been told it will be, such as checking what times of the day they use their car and how fast they drive. If the customer moves their business to another insurer any telemetric data held on them must be deleted.
Individuals are able to check what information an insurer, or any other company, has on them by lodging a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act. These usually cost £10 and upon receipt of a request firms must abide by the requirement to forward on a copy of any information they hold on the person making the request.
Privacy and the police
There is one notable exemption, as the police are able to obtain personal information on people they have grounds to believe have committed a criminal offence. They or the company don’t have to reveal their request to the customer, as this may prejudice an investigation.
It won’t be an issue for law abiding drivers, for whom telematics driving policies may just prove a cost effective solution.