Nurse knocks £300 off her car insurance bill by switching to a tracking device

Telematics insurance can save drivers loads on their insurance premiums, provided they drive safely and are happy to have their motoring monitored for mistakes and high mileage

A young nurse has managed to save £300 a year on her car insurance premium by swapping to ‘black box’ insurance.

Erin McCulloch, 25, works as a pediatric nurse and needs her car to commute to work.

But, like many young drivers, she was facing massive car insurance premiums – of £1,000 a year.

Young drivers are charged high premiums because they are the most likely to have accidents due to a lack of driving experience.

The average premium for a young driver is £1,062, according to research from Which? – with fuel and other costs adding another £700 a year on top.

Feeling she had no other choice, McCulloch was paying the sky-high premiums, but then realised there might be a way to save money.

She is now paying around £700 a year after swapping to telematics-based insurance, also known as black box insurance.

This works by tracking your driving then charging an insurance premium based on that.

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It is appealing for young drivers because it brings their costs down, provided they drive safely.

And insurance firms like it because it encourages safer driving, meaning fewer claims for them to pay out.

In McCulloch’s case she picked a policy from a broker called By Miles.

By Miles sent her a black box that connects to the car’s milometer and records how far it travels.

The premium she is charged is partly a fixed amount, with a variable extra depending on how much distance she covers.

As she signed up in May, the overall yearly saving is not confirmed – but she thinks it will be around £300.

“I need to drive for my job, with the odd social trip,” she said. “It’s made a big difference because I’m saving a lot more and not paying so much upfront, which is great.”

One of the arguments against telematics is that it is intrusive to have a device tracking how you drive.

McCulloch said she was a bit wary at first, but now said it is easy to forget the recording device is even fitted.

It is the size of a matchbox and fits underneath the steering wheel of her Mini Convertible, though some telematics insurance policies just use the customer’s smartphones to judge driving.

“I don’t notice it at all,” she said. “If anything it’s a good thing. It’s made me think more about if I do really need to drive to make a trip.”

The box comes with an app that lets drivers see their journeys and what it means in terms of insurance cost.

Advantages of telematics

• Lower prices for insurance – if you drive safely and don’t rack up huge mileage
• If your car gets stolen the box can act as a tracker to locate it
• It encourages safer driving, meaning fewer road deaths
• Can help prove liability in case of claim
• Lower fuel costs, as the devices often reward gentle acceleration and braking

Disadvantages of telematics

• If your policy has an annual mileage cap, going over that can be expensive
• Privacy is a concern for some
• Many telematics policies have night-time curfews on driving for youngsters
• The boxes can cost money to fit – and even remove
• The devices can make mistakes, which can bump up your insurance premiums if not spotted

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