New Driver "Black Box" Car Insurance - Concurrent Policies
YorkBluenose
Posts: 11 Forumite
Hi
I would really appreciate any views on the below scenario, which pertains to "New Driver" car insurance, of the type for which a discounted premium is given for attaching a "black box" device to the car to monitor driving style:
1. Son passes tests. We purchase a "black box" policy to give him comprehensive cover on the family car. Install device easily. He's happily now driving. Great.
2. Few weeks later, daughter passes test. Great.
3. Now, the same insurer, for reasons not clear, will not sell a similar policy to cover my daughter. They claim technical limitations of the black box device, as it is unable to differentiate between drivers. I get that, but the policy also requires that a driver MUST also log on via an app to explicitly identify themselves prior to commencing each journey. Without such, their insurance is invalidated. Ergo, the insurer does know exactly when when the insured is driving the car.
4. Insurer then also advises their device must be connected all times, regardless of who is actually driving the car. Be it someone they insure....or someone they don't.
So the outcome is that we are unable to get a similar policy for my 'new driver' daughter, as i) sons insurer won't sell one and ii) going to another provider would require us to alternate between the black box devices provided by the two different providers.
None of the above was either made clear, or could be inferred, from the KeyFacts documentation, etc., that was provided prior to the purchase 'cooling off' period elapsing.
Surely this is a distortion of free market principles as my daughter is prevented from purchasing a "black box" policy, unless we buy her a differnet car form that used by my son (not an option btw!).
I'll be taking it to the Obudsman, in part out of curiosity, but foremost due to the practical inconvenience of being unable to get a New Driver policy for my daughter and thus likely being forced to pay hundreds extra for her to have a "non black box" policy.
Many thanks for your thoughts.
I would really appreciate any views on the below scenario, which pertains to "New Driver" car insurance, of the type for which a discounted premium is given for attaching a "black box" device to the car to monitor driving style:
1. Son passes tests. We purchase a "black box" policy to give him comprehensive cover on the family car. Install device easily. He's happily now driving. Great.
2. Few weeks later, daughter passes test. Great.
3. Now, the same insurer, for reasons not clear, will not sell a similar policy to cover my daughter. They claim technical limitations of the black box device, as it is unable to differentiate between drivers. I get that, but the policy also requires that a driver MUST also log on via an app to explicitly identify themselves prior to commencing each journey. Without such, their insurance is invalidated. Ergo, the insurer does know exactly when when the insured is driving the car.
4. Insurer then also advises their device must be connected all times, regardless of who is actually driving the car. Be it someone they insure....or someone they don't.
So the outcome is that we are unable to get a similar policy for my 'new driver' daughter, as i) sons insurer won't sell one and ii) going to another provider would require us to alternate between the black box devices provided by the two different providers.
None of the above was either made clear, or could be inferred, from the KeyFacts documentation, etc., that was provided prior to the purchase 'cooling off' period elapsing.
Surely this is a distortion of free market principles as my daughter is prevented from purchasing a "black box" policy, unless we buy her a differnet car form that used by my son (not an option btw!).
I'll be taking it to the Obudsman, in part out of curiosity, but foremost due to the practical inconvenience of being unable to get a New Driver policy for my daughter and thus likely being forced to pay hundreds extra for her to have a "non black box" policy.
Many thanks for your thoughts.
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Comments
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Free market principles allow you to cancel the policy and find a policy/provider that suits your needs.YorkBluenose wrote: »Surely this is a distortion of free market principles as my daughter is prevented from purchasing a "black box" policy, unless we buy her a differnet car form that used by my son (not an option btw!).0 -
To take this to the ombudsman for their adjudication you first need to make a complaint to the insurer and await their reply (or 8 weeks if they ignore you) before being able to escalate to the FOS.0
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Free market principles allow you to cancel the policy and find a policy/provider that suits your needs.
Indeed, and inevitably will be the forced outcome, for which I will, unfairly IMO, incur a cancellation fee for a product that did not, again IMO, make some fundamentals clear in its KeyFacts.0 -
YorkBluenose wrote: »Indeed, and inevitably will be the forced outcome, for which I will, unfairly IMO, incur a cancellation fee for a product that did not, again IMO, make some fundamentals clear in its KeyFacts.
Did you tell them when you took it out that you would need to soon add another young driver?0 -
Did you tell them when you took it out that you would need to soon add another young driver?
No. Why should I ? I have never encountered a situation in which purchase of a car insurance policy would prevent another individual from taking out a policy on the same car at a future date. Two 'new drivers' requiring simultaneous insurance on the same car cannot be an unreasonable scenario, surely ? But evidently it is in the eyes of this insurer, and one that they prohibit with their policy yet make absolutely no mention of it in their KeyFacts.0 -
I'm no expert on these but can you not get your daughter such a policy from another provider? Why would you need to alternate - wouldn't both boxes run but each child's app says who was driving?YorkBluenose wrote: »So the outcome is that we are unable to get a similar policy for my 'new driver' daughter, as i) sons insurer won't sell one and ii) going to another provider would require us to alternate between the black box devices provided by the two different providers.
If the insurer can't do it for technical reasons I doubt neither you nor the ombudsman can force them. So then what outcome do you want - fee free cancellation to go elsewhere.
From a moneysaving viewpoint, multiple policies can't be the answer surely.0 -
YorkBluenose wrote: »No. Why should I ? I have never encountered a situation in which purchase of a car insurance policy would prevent another individual from taking out a policy on the same car at a future date. Two 'new drivers' requiring simultaneous insurance on the same car cannot be an unreasonable scenario, surely ? But evidently it is in the eyes of this insurer, and one that they prohibit with their policy yet make absolutely no mention of it in their KeyFacts.
Are they prohibiting it or just saying their technology can't cope?0 -
Are they prohibiting it or just saying their technology can't cope?
I sense its a deficiency with their tech, although I am unclear why i) they need the black box installed all the time, irrespective of who is driving, and ii) why they can't differentiate between drivers given the need to login before each journey.
They can't prohibit another policy, but the moment I unplug their device, their policy becomes invalidated. Hence, only one New Driver can be insured for the car. I need to research offerings from other providers, there must be a company willing to insure both drivers and gain the income from two policies,
cheers0 -
I'm no expert on these but can you not get your daughter such a policy from another provider? Why would you need to alternate - wouldn't both boxes run but each child's app says who was driving?
If the insurer can't do it for technical reasons I doubt neither you nor the ombudsman can force them. So then what outcome do you want - fee free cancellation to go elsewhere.
From a moneysaving viewpoint, multiple policies can't be the answer surely.
That's the crux of my problem. Yes, I can get a policy for my daughter from another provider, but they will want their black box fitting. Can only fit one box (it goes in the 'OBS' port for which there is only one in the car). And whilst simply swapping one out for the other as determined by who's driving would not be too onerous, the current insurer insists (for reasons unknown to me) their device is installed at all time, regardless of who's driving.
I appreciate I can't force them to change this. The solution is cancellation without incurring any charge and I find another insurer happy to sell two policies.
cheers0
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