Tracking device to reduce insurance

vax2002

They loose sight of the trackers quite regularly, they need to receive a satellite GPS signal similar to a sat nav, then they record the data and transmit it back in packets via the mobile phone network.
The signals get blocked due to sun spots, underground car parks, tall buildings, trees, bridges and any manner of things.
You can even buy small portable devices that plug in the power socket that block the gps signals by transmitting very low power white noise, trouble is they also prevent sat navs working in the same vehicle.
Trackers are routinely fitted in contract hire vehicles used for work, the chances are if you have a company vehicle you have a good chance of having one fitted and your company can buy in to a data stream and watch you like a hawk..
It wont be that long before all new cars have them and insurance companies will insist on them in return for protection from the Government for running what is effectively a cartel racket.
1984 is indeed upon us.

skiddlydiddly

There was a feature about the insurance black boxes on radio 1 last month.If you had them fitted the price came down(a lot less than what the OP has been quoted, more like 5-10%) but if you sped then your policy would increase by substantially more.I was only half listening so don't take that as gospel.
As pretty much everyone speeds at some stage, then depending what tolerances the insurer builds in before increasing your premium, it may not be worth it.They also said they wouldn't report you to the police but may not cancel your policy if you speed a lot.

If you mean Tracker as in the brand name then I had one on an old car and just the subscription for it was £100+ a year and then there is the fitting.

stripyhills

Thanks for all your replies

The tracker isn't one that they'll fit or even use to track my distance/times i drive. Its just one I would fit voluntarily and the insurance company wouldn't have access to it.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

stripyhills wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies

The tracker isn't one that they'll fit or even use to track my distance/times i drive. Its just one I would fit voluntarily and the insurance company wouldn't have access to it.

just a normal anti theft tracking device then, these do fetch down policy prices but dont skimp on the tracker, every tracker has a rating the insurers know the rating of the tracker, if its a bog cheapy youll get less discount top of the range you get full allowable discount for that catagory of tracker.

patman99

The Co-Op Insurance do these trackers. No curfew times, but they do contain acceleromoters to track acceleration, braking and cornering.
Drive sensibly and you get a partial refund on your insurance. However, drive it like you stole it and you end-up paying more.

The only problem yet to be sorted is what happens if a parent borrows the car and drives like Jenson Button (I nearly said 'Lewis Hamilton', but it would be easy to see if they had driven like him as the front wing would be broken and the back wheel hanging-off).

asbokid

I am just getting quotes for motor insurance renewal. The cheapest, so far, is Coverbox. It's £40 or 10% less than the next cheapest insurer.

In the sales bumph, Coverbox states that the insurance "includes a free theft tracker worth £300."

That's a bit disingenuous, because the policy details describe the use of the tracker for telematic purposes.

Infact, Coverbox Insurance is apparently "one of the UK’s leading brands for telematics-based insurance."

From: http://warehousenews.co.uk/2011/01/quartix-to-supply-coverbox-with-15000-pay-as-you-drive-telematics-systems/

Coverbox_Insurance wrote:

Coverbox is supplying the trackers to policyholders as part of its pay-as-you-drive service – a service which offers refunds if the system detects their mileage is less than anticipated or their driving is limited to off-peak periods when fewer accidents happen.

"Quartix, one of the UK’s top vehicle tracking providers, has signed a contract with Wunelli, owner of Coverbox Insurance, which is expected to take delivery of approximately 15,000 units over the first 12 months.

With Coverbox customers are charged a rate for their mileage, which is determined by the time of day they drive. Data, delivered by the telematics system, is displayed on-screen as ‘dashboard’ reports. Usage, driving patterns and bills can be read quickly and easily.

Coverbox, a ‘smart’ insurance product based on both telematics and data analysis, not only monitors driving habits and behaviour but also verifies information supplied by customers on their application form.

Quartix’s new TCSV9 system – key to telematics-based insurance

With telematics-based insurance data quality and integrity are essential, and key to this is Quartix’s new TCSV9 system.

Already well advanced in design terms when the Coverbox project was being developed, the company’s fifth-generation TCSV9 is one of the most integrated tracking systems available.

It incorporates a comprehensive range of features in a unit only slightly larger than a matchbox, but weighs under 80gm. The features include GPS tracking; a crash-detection ‘black box’ to alert the insurance company or fleet owner of an accident – plus detailed storage of vehicle movements prior to a crash; and a tri-axis accelerometer to monitor acceleration, braking and cornering.

Speeding is monitored against a road speed limit database for the UK. Data can be used to assess a driver’s accident risk level through his driving behaviour.

Insured is travelling at 56mph in a 30mph zone

More at:
http://www.quartix.net/content/vehicle-tracking-product-design.asp
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-12182584
http://www.thesla.org/
http://www.wunelli.com/
http://www.comparethebox.com/

joeypesci

Doing a quick google and you'll find Coverbox is one company to AVOID.

Cash-Strapped.T32

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

just a normal anti theft tracking device then

IDD - I think there's some mixing up of so called "black boxes" vs actual tracking devices going on here.
As to the 2 types the OP mentioned (GPS or GSM), it's not quite that distinct..

GPS is the method that the device uses to gain it's position, or in other words how it "knows" where it is.

GSM, (which for our purposes usually means sticking a PAYG simcard in the tracker), is the method by which the tracker reports back to you & tells you where it is - often by way of a text-message.

Of course some more expensive trackers might not use GSM to report back to the owner, they might use some other mechanism, but that's basically the highly-simplified version of why trackers might use both GPS & GSM at the same time..


I've been looking into these lately, not for insurance but for traditional anti-theft (or post-theft revenge ) purposes - I had planned to use a sprare Android handset mounted in my motorbike to act as both the GPS tracker, and the GSM "sender", and just write a little app to handle it all, but the prices of basic trackers have come down so much lately I might not even bother & go with a dedicated bought one.


If anyone has any recommendations I'd love to hear them.