The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (Biba) believe that the sale of telematics, otherwise known as ‘black-box’, car insurance will reach half a million policies during the next two years.
The British Insurance Brokers Association is the insurance industry’s trade body. It says that in the last two years the sale of telematics insurance has increased by a staggering five times.
Telematics car insurance is proving very popular with numerous motorists as it can lower car insurance premium levels. It is, however, the young driver who is benefiting most because they are often faced with huge car insurance premiums so the “black box” is welcomed.
Research by Biba revealed that in 2009 there were 12,000 telematics policies sold but during the first 6 months of 2012 a staggering 180,000 were sold.
Initially the black box car insurance was only offered by ikube and Coverbox but now many of the major insurers also offer it including the AA, Swinton and the Co-op.
Towards the end of 2012 the European directive comes into force not allowing insurers to take gender into account so female drivers may find telematics car insurance as a way of reducing the impact this directive is expected to have on car insurance premiums.
Leighann Forsyth, who is Biba’s head of communications stated: “The dramatic increase in black box technology follows the rising cost of premiums for young drivers, the decreasing cost of technology, and new product availability from insurance brokers.”
A “black box” is usually located in the dashboard and will examine how capable a driver is behind the wheel by looking at braking, acceleration and speed.
Only a few days ago, Cobra UK brought to the UK market the first telematics “black box” to be located on the windscreen. It is believed that a visible “black box” will act as a deterrent to poor driving.
