SAVVY saver Denisha Knole managed to knock down the price she was paying on her car insurance by as much as £900 a year.
The 37 year old nurse, from London, fit her car with a telematics “black box” to track her mileage – and the fewer miles she drives the lower her bill is.
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Denisha signed up to By Miles last year, as she was looking to save money on her car insurance.
Previously, the mum of two paid £1,764 a year with a traditional insurer.
But with By Miles they estimated her bill would be £872.31 for full comprehensive cover – as long as she only drove around 3,000 miles a year.
That means she managed to make a saving of £891.69.
Her car black box tracks and monitors her driving habits and that means safer, more responsible drivers can be rewarded for their behaviour.
But the risk is that if you drive dangerously, your bill will go up.
There are approximately 450,000 telematics policies in the market in the UK. They first launched in 2010 and can typically save drivers – especially younger ones- £200 a year, according to MoneySuperMarket.
But with ByMiles, your premium is also calculated based on the amount of miles you drive.
ByMiles isn’t the only insurer on the market charging by the mile either, rival JURNY has a similar policy.
“When I found ByMiles I thought, what, have I been ripped off before?,” Denisha told The Sun.
“The miles that I drive are what I pay for and that’s the game changer. I would definitely recommend the switch.
“I’m going on holiday next year to Barbados so I’ll have a few more pennies to put towards that, with what I’ve saved.”
Drivers have to pay from £150 upfront for an annual policy, and then they get billed at the end of each month for the miles driven.
But this will vary between customers when they apply for a quote.
The device itself is tiny, it looks like a little USB stick.
Users can also track everything they do with a free app.
Denisha wants to commit to driving less, as it’s better for the environment – and it helps her save money.
She said: “When the weather was lovely, I told the children that we would be walking to school rather than driving.
“Monitoring my miles on the app can make me conscious of the journey I’m taking as it lists everything – if it’s a simple journey then I would say, I know that if to get to here it’s only such a distance, and will cost so much, I’ll just walk instead.”
It means she pays £20 a month on average for her car insurance.
But if she does need to drive more then her bills will go up.
Telematics insurance explained
Telematics insurance will usually require the installation of a device on the vehicle, commonly called a “Black Box”.
You can also get USB-like plug in options (often referred to as plug and drive) that the driver can fit themselves like with ByMiles’ policies, or you can get smartphone syncing data that tracks your mobile instead while you’re in the car.
Regardless, the drivers will be monitored on things like what hours of the day you may be driving, the distance, speed, or even the type of roads where the car is driven.
You need to watch out for extra charges, such as reinstallation if you change cars, removal fees and fees if you damage the technology.
Drivers should do their research before taking out a new policy.
A spokesperson from GoCompare said: “Although telematics insurance offers less experienced drivers potentially a more competitive route to buying their car insurance, with driving behaviour being monitored by insurers of telematics customers, some may find this a drawback of the offering.
“There may also be potential for premiums to increase due to customer driving to a standard that may not be acceptable to the insurer so this should also be taken into account.”
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