insurance companies don’t ask if you have Immobiliser or Dashcams

Car_54

DullGreyGuy said:

Car_54 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Just done 3 online quotes and every one asked about an alarm and/or immobiliser and who fitted the items.

None aske about dashcams.

Confused.com does ask about dash cams, or at least one of the aggregators does. Aggregators are different though, consumers are willing to put up with longer questionnaires because they get back 50 different quotes potentially -v- when dealing directly with an insurer.

Hoenir said:

Dashcam installation isn't going to stop you having an accident or making a claim for damage to your vehicle or somebody elses property. . 

As noted before however this is double edged sword as sometimes it proves your PH was at fault whereas it may have gone 50/50 without video evidence.

But would 50/50 be an improvement? It's still an at-fault claim.

For the consumer the difference is that they can recover 50% of their uninsured losses from the third party insurer, eg half their excess or compensation for whiplash etc.

Good point. Thanks.

Alanp

35har1old said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Just done 3 online quotes and every one asked about an alarm and/or immobiliser and who fitted the items.

None asked about dashcams.

If the dashcam is hard wired it could fall into the category has the car been modified 

You beat me to it, perhaps they could declare it a modification and not pay out in the event of a claim, a strange paradox where, you fit a dashcam to prove what happened if it’s not your fault, but might be penalised for not declaring a modification…

DullGreyGuy

Car_54 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Car_54 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Just done 3 online quotes and every one asked about an alarm and/or immobiliser and who fitted the items.

None aske about dashcams.

Confused.com does ask about dash cams, or at least one of the aggregators does. Aggregators are different though, consumers are willing to put up with longer questionnaires because they get back 50 different quotes potentially -v- when dealing directly with an insurer.

Hoenir said:

Dashcam installation isn't going to stop you having an accident or making a claim for damage to your vehicle or somebody elses property. . 

As noted before however this is double edged sword as sometimes it proves your PH was at fault whereas it may have gone 50/50 without video evidence.

But would 50/50 be an improvement? It's still an at-fault claim.

For the consumer the difference is that they can recover 50% of their uninsured losses from the third party insurer, eg half their excess or compensation for whiplash etc.

Good point. Thanks.

In this case however we are really talking about pricing, given we are talking about questions asked at quote stage and so the difference in costs to the insurer is more important. 

gplinge

35har1old said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Just done 3 online quotes and every one asked about an alarm and/or immobiliser and who fitted the items.

None asked about dashcams.

If the dashcam is hard wired it could fall into the category has the car been modified 

I asked my insurer when I was planning to get on insured - they said it made no difference

Herzlos

facade said:

Be careful what you wish for with dashcams. They are highly stealable, so the risk of your car being broken into increases, and if you said you have a dashcam the insurer will get all huffy & puffy should you not have footage of your accident available.

Given how cheap most of them are now, and how they may be recording all the the time it's a bit risky looking to check, are they really that stealable?

I understand that the high end ones will presumably fetch a good price in the pub, but it's a lot of hassle/risk for a £10 from ebay unit.

caprikid1

Having seen enough cars being rammed by Dashcam users for likes and views I can imagine insurance companies don't always see them as positive.

Nasqueron

Hoenir said:

Dashcam installation isn't going to stop you having an accident or making a claim for damage to your vehicle or somebody elses property. . 

They help also on the roundabout stye collisions where they often go 50/50 without evidence even when it's something weird like they try and go all the way around in the left lane without indicating or cut across from a straight ahead only lane

facade

Herzlos said:

facade said:

Be careful what you wish for with dashcams. They are highly stealable, so the risk of your car being broken into increases, and if you said you have a dashcam the insurer will get all huffy & puffy should you not have footage of your accident available.

Given how cheap most of them are now, and how they may be recording all the the time it's a bit risky looking to check, are they really that stealable?

I understand that the high end ones will presumably fetch a good price in the pub, but it's a lot of hassle/risk for a £10 from ebay unit.

You won't believe how hard a thief (usually an addict of some sort tbh) will work for pennies. Anyone less desperate would just get a paper round for less work, no risk and more money!

They also don't care if they cause £1000 worth of damage trying to steal a £10 item.

DullGreyGuy

facade said:

Herzlos said:

facade said:

Be careful what you wish for with dashcams. They are highly stealable, so the risk of your car being broken into increases, and if you said you have a dashcam the insurer will get all huffy & puffy should you not have footage of your accident available.

Given how cheap most of them are now, and how they may be recording all the the time it's a bit risky looking to check, are they really that stealable?

I understand that the high end ones will presumably fetch a good price in the pub, but it's a lot of hassle/risk for a £10 from ebay unit.

You won't believe how hard a thief (usually an addict of some sort tbh) will work for pennies. Anyone less desperate would just get a paper round for less work, no risk and more money!

It's not really hard work though is it... make sure you've got your hoodie on, smash the side window, grab it, leg it. As you say, if it's properly mounted/wired in you just pull it hard enough and it will give. Nasqueron said:

Hoenir said:

Dashcam installation isn't going to stop you having an accident or making a claim for damage to your vehicle or somebody elses property. . 

They help also on the roundabout stye collisions where they often go 50/50 without evidence even when it's something weird like they try and go all the way around in the left lane without indicating or cut across from a straight ahead only lane

They can help and hinder... your customer tells you the third party cut the corner/drifted into their lane and caused the collision. The witness then shares their dashcam and it shows your policyholder actually drifted wide and went into the third party lane. The 50/50 has now turned into 100% your customers fault

UncleZen

As mentioned, some insurers class a hardwired daschcam as a modification and could refuse to insure you in an accident. If its plugged into the cigarette lighter, it's not a modification.
I'm with rac, they don't mind if its hardwired as long as you tell them. Direct line didn't care at all. In both cases I had a web chat with the call centre and captured the evidence that they said this, just in case.