Smart Box Tracker - Good Idea??

mrsvanderkamp_2

Hi there I'm after a little advice if possible please

My 19 year old is (hopefully) about to pass his test so I have been getting quotes to insure him on my V reg 1.3 Fiesta. So far the best deal by far is with Admiral, which was coincidental as we already insure our other car with them. The initial quote was £1069 with the tracker fitted but has come down to £948 if we switch to a multi car policy with them. This beats the next best quote by nearly £300 (the cost of the tracker is included in the premium by the way). The tracker simply tracks speed and manner of driving and does not prohibit driving at certain times as I know some do. Admiral tell me that "bad" driving will only be an issue at renewal when they will take that into account, so on the face of it, it seems like a pretty good deal for a 19 year old with brand new licence.

My question really is whether anyone has any experience of having one of these trackers fitted and if so was it good or bad? Also if Admiral perceive the driving as "bad" after the first year, I assume that I don't have to renew with them and my son will (hopefully) have one year NCD so could shop around? Would any info from the Tracker held by Admiral be made available to other insurers?

The other thing that may be important is that my son works at McDonalds and whilst the policy does not exclude him from driving late at night, he often (3-4 times a week) does as he regularly does the late shift getting home at about 1am. Is this likely to raise a flag, regardless of how well he is driving at the time?

Thanks for any advice

forgotmyname

Is a hole in the head a good idea?

Who determines the bad driving? Driving along a 30mph road he has to brake suddenly to avoid something. Is that bad driving?

Driving at night may flag up. £1000 for a young make sounds too cheap.

Vehicle owned and registered in his name with him as the main driver?
Didnt get quotes with him as a provisional licence holder did you? Thats a lot cheaper. And would tie in with your figures.

Young male, Just passed the test is usually closer to £3000.

mrsvanderkamp_2

No, its my car, me as policy holder with son and husband as named drivers.

No def didn't add as provisional licence holder - most of the quotes came in anywhere between £1100 and £1400 which is a lot less than they were when I looked a year or so ago but they vary wildly. My current insurer (Swinton) wanted £2,700 then said they could bring it down to £1900 and a supposed "specialist" insurer for young drivers wanted £6K.

I understand your point about braking etc, but if it only affects the policy on renewal and we don't renew with them, does it matter?

forgotmyname

That explains it. But he will be the main driver?

So your illegally going to front the insurance.. Oh dear.

read the terms if they decide he is driving is not upto standard then their maybe a clause to cancel the policy mid term.
They know the speed limit on the road and the speed he will be travelling at.

But it wont know who is driving. But they will think its suspicious that your the main driver yet its parked at home all day and outside macdonalds all night.
So he is using it for commuting to his place of work.

The tracker will give them all the evidence they need to show your trying to defraud the system.
Try getting quotes with that hanging around your neck.
£6000 will be a bargain.

mrsvanderkamp_2

forgotmyname wrote: »

That explains it. But he will be the main driver?

So your illegally going to front the insurance.. Oh dear.

read the terms if they decide he is driving is not upto standard then their maybe a clause to cancel the policy mid term.
They know the speed limit on the road and the speed he will be travelling at.

But it wont know who is driving. But they will think its suspicious that your the main driver yet its parked at home all day and outside macdonalds all night.
So he is using it for commuting to his place of work.

The tracker will give them all the evidence they need to show your trying to defraud the system.
Try getting quotes with that hanging around your neck.
£6000 will be a bargain.

Er, no I certainly won't be "fronting" the policy at all! Did you read incorrectly?? I've owned this car for 5 years already and I've kept it because its extremely reliable and its a perfect car for my son to use. Its MY car and will remain MY car; he will use it as and when it is available not when he wants to irrespective of my need to use it. He doesn't actually need to use it for work since he works a 10-15 minute walk away but I have never been comfortable with him walking home late at night. And if I am using it for work during the day, which I will be, it won't be identified as being at home all day and at McDonalds all night as you suggest.

I have been FULLY upfront with the insurers and have spoken with them on the phone and I am not hiding anything!

And your assumption that because he is 19 he will of course be driving like a maniac at all times is as narrow minded as the insurance company's!

Thanks for your "advice" though! :think:

forgotmyname

You said he will be using the car to commute... So the insurance company will probably assume the same.

If its all above board then the tracker will help prove that so be an issue then.

Did i say drive like a maniac? I said it doesnt know who is driving. But as the policy is in your name then its down to you not him.

But he wont earn his own proper no claims on your policy.

rs65

As a named driver, he may earn NCD with Admiral but this can probably only be used with Admiral.

You may not have the option to change insurer and have 1 year NCD for him.

dalesrider

I would carefully check the T/C with a tracker. Some of them will allow them to cancel a policy if the data is not good.
Where the issue with this is... That your young driver than has to declare a cancelled policy on any future insurance.

mrsvanderkamp_2

Thanks for the replies. I haven't checked the t&c's but them being able to cancel early is the kind of thing I'm worried about - it's my car and i'm the policy holder at the end of the day so I certainly don't want to have to declare a cancelled policy on future applications. Additionally, I have to say that I'm not really thrilled with the idea of having my own driving monitored ;-/

I've decided not to go with the tracker for those reasons and go with the next best quote of £1132 which is still pretty competitive.

I did out of interest change the policy around so son is main driver with us as named drivers and that came out at around £1800. But it really is 50/50 as to who will use the car most out of the 2 of us and whilst I want him to earn his own NCD I don't want to lose my 15 years worth either. So I'll keep him as named and at least when he gets his own car he will have had a licence for a year (hopefully claim free!) which might help with premiums.

mrsvanderkamp_2

forgotmyname wrote: »

You said he will be using the car to commute... So the insurance company will probably assume the same.

If its all above board then the tracker will help prove that so be an issue then.

Did i say drive like a maniac? I said it doesnt know who is driving. But as the policy is in your name then its down to you not him.

But he wont earn his own proper no claims on your policy.

They don't actually ask what the named drivers will use the car for but I selected SD and commuting as the cover so I guessed any of us could use the car for that purpose. Sorry if my earlier reply was a bit stroppy but I'm really not trying to defraud anyone

forgotmyname

Im very blunt and say what i see. If you dont like it then ignore me.
Maybe i should change my signature to that.

But having him as a named driver wont earn him his own proper no claims that can be transferred to any insurer. You will be locked into that insurer or group.

And in 5 years he will still have to declare zero no claims. If taking a policy in his own name.

They will query any incident in fine detail. Did you see the link someone posted today. BBC news page Insurers refuse thousands of claims every year because a parent claimed to be the main driver and was not.

Or the link to someone that had an accident, Uninsured and now has a bill for £40,000.

Not a great start to life.

6 points for no insurance = licence gone for him and a retest.