Transport Secretary Justine Greening has called for a wider implementation of black box technology to reduce the costs of insurance for young drivers and women. In a recent talk show interview Justine Greening notes that young people in the UK pay as much as £3,000 for car insurance. She estimates for young drivers installing a black box could take up to 20% off of their premiums. Great if you’re looking for cheap car insurance for young female drivers.
What Are Black Boxes?
Black box tracking technology is more formally known as telematics. These tracking monitors are about the size of a mobile phone and are placed in the drivers vehicle. The black box then tracks the driving behavior and mileage and relays this information back to a computer server owned by the insurance company. The insurance company then analyzes the information. If the driver is viewed as exhibiting safe driving behavior they will be offered a discount on their premiums. Safe driving behavior can include factors such as not speeding, no rapid or frequent braking or driving only during the daytime. The cars mileage is also taken into consideration because drivers who are on the road for a shorter period of time are less likely to have an accident. There’s a few things to consider when going for a young driver car insurance black box.
Why Women Can Benefit
The transport secretary points out that women in particular can benefit from having black box monitoring installed. Currently women pay less for car insurance than men. Something to remember when looking at young driver car insurance brokers. But in December new European Union gender discrimination laws mean that insurance companies must charge the same premium for men and women. Women as a group are actually significantly less likely to be in a car accident. This means that female drivers will likely to be overpaying for their car insurance next year. By installing a black box in their car women drivers can prove that they are safer drivers and thus earn the discounts on their premiums.
Young Drivers Being Discriminated Against
Justine Greening believes that young drivers in the UK are receiving unfair treatment. She stated that UK young drivers are among the safest for their age group in the world. She also points out that casualties for drivers under 25 are being reduced at a faster rate than drivers overall. This means that young drivers are becoming safer, compared to other driving groups. However, this is not being reflected by a reduction in insurance premiums for young people. One way to overcome this problem is for widespread installation of black box technology so that drivers can demonstrate that they are in fact as safe as recent studies suggest they are. Specialist young driver car insurance can reduce discrimination for young drivers for the reasons outlined here.
Reduce Night Time Driving
Insurance companies have suggested that insurance costs for young people could be reduced if stricter night time curfews were in place for drivers under 25. This is because statistically you are much more likely to be in car accident at night time, than you are during the day.
However, Justine Greening has rejected suggestions that a curfew should be put in place. Instead she prefers to use black box technology used as a solution. Many black box insurance policies already offer discounts on premiums for drivers who restrict themselves to day time driving. By using black box monitoring, drivers who want to reduce their premiums will be able to, without having to restrict younger drivers overall.
Black Box Drivers Are Safer Drivers
Black boxes don’t just reduce insurance premiums, they can also improve driving behavior. Studies show that drivers with black boxes installed have 20% fewer car accidents. There are two reasons for this. Firstly drivers receive feedback about their driving behavior. They can learn what they need to do to drive safer. With some black box technology drivers are able to receive feedback as they are driving so that they are able to make corrections. Secondly because of the awareness that they can save money by driving safely they are more conscious about their driving behavior. Black box technology reduces costs for insurance companies and creates a safer driving environment for everyone on the road.
Young people and female drivers have a lot to gain by making the switch to black box technology. The call by the Transport Secretary for wider installation of these devices shows how serious this solution is being taken. We can expect to see a significant increase in the future of these devices as drivers seek to reduce expensive insurance premiums. Young driver car insurance tips are available which suggest to use these devices not only to reduce premiums but to increase safety.
Here’s our article on Why Young Drivers Need Telematics Insurance.
