Hastings black box insurance

Benny1970

My son has just been informed that his car insurance will automatically be cancelled because his black box score has fallen below 30. This is true for the most recent two week period, but his overall score is in the mid 40s. I cannot find anywhere in the policy the mention of within the last two weeks as opposed to over the period the box has been installed. Does anyone else have any experience of this?  Thank you. 

HillStreetBlues

https://www.hastingsdirect.com/car-insurance/policy-info/policy-booklets/  Page 63

Your driving score needs to stay above 30 at all times, or your policy may be cancelled 

SandyShores

If you watch the youtube videos and read the FAQs it seems to indicate that the overall score is key at renewal time, and the two week score shows recent areas of concern or improvement, but both scores are important.

MattMattMattUK

Benny1970 said:

My son has just been informed that his car insurance will automatically be cancelled because his black box score has fallen below 30. This is true for the most recent two week period, but his overall score is in the mid 40s. I cannot find anywhere in the policy the mention of within the last two weeks as opposed to over the period the box has been installed. Does anyone else have any experience of this?  Thank you. 

To get his score that low he must be driving like an absolute lunatic and probably using his phone whilst driving as well (the app can tell). It requires fairly aggressive driving to even get these out of the 80s, to get into the 20s he will have to be regularly exceeding speed limits (not just by 5mph either, likely 10-30mph over or exceeding 100mph on motorways), accelerating, breaking and cornering incredibly hard and using his phone whilst driving.

He will also have had regular warnings as his score dropped and the app will have told him when going under 40 that he was at risk of having his policy cancelled. Being realistic he is incredibly lucky yo have had insurance cancelled because they way he must have been driving there will have been a real risk he caused as serious accident.

Edit to add: I know two people with these, one is 18, regularly drives late at night or early in the morning, but is sensible and his score is in the 90s, the other is in his 40s, drives like an idiot with a heavy right foot and his score is still in the 70s. One would have to make a serious effort, regularly driving dangerously and irresponsibly to get a score in the 20s.

Goudy

There are other factors in most black box scores.
Driving at night and at peak times can lower it as can doing lots of miles, even if driving like an angel.

But I have to agree with Matt, to get it this low the black box has recorded "Black Events". Serious breaches of the speed limits usually or else there's a fault with the box.

What I think will be your/your sons next headache will be in having to declare a cancelled insurance policy when he/you buy another policy.
They will ask and are going to want to know why it was cancelled.

GrumpyDil

If it hasn't been cancelled yet, is there any option for him to cancel it himself as that would be a better outcome than letting Admiral cancel it themselves.

And agree he must be driving like a loon to get it that low and ignored warnings. 

Mildly_Miffed

Benny1970 said:

My son has just been informed that his car insurance will automatically be cancelled because his black box score has fallen below 30. This is true for the most recent two week period

This is your issue, right here..

but his overall score is in the mid 40s

...as is this.

I cannot find anywhere in the policy the mention of within the last two weeks as opposed to over the period the box has been installed. Does anyone else have any experience of this? Thank you.

You make it sound as if the insurer is being unreasonable, yet it sounds like the black box is doing EXACTLY what it's meant to.

And, yes, I do mean YOUR issue. The cancellation is his issue. He's an adult. He's responsible for the consequences of his own poor choices.

But if he's driving so consistently badly, the aftermath carries a very real risk of everything ceasing to be his issue, but becoming yours. Or the parents of his mates and passengers. Or the family of the people in the other car or on the bicycles or walking down the road.

He needs to take this as a very large, very serious clue.
If you are worrying about his insurance, instead of his driving, then you too need to take it as a very large, very serious clue.

daveyjp

Time for a dashcam if only to check the black box is recording reality, they aren't infallible. 

ontheroad1970

From reading this forum regularly, I'd never insure with Hastings in the first place.  They appear to be trigger happy with cancellations at the best of times.