Black Box Insurance - cancellation whilst at University

ja555999

Hello,
My son has car insurance with a black box. All going well except he has now gone to university and left his car at home. He's (I've) paid for the insurance of 12 months.

The insurance company now suggest that as he is not using the car, and they are therefore not getting any telemetry, that they are going to cancel the policy or remove the black box discount adding another £300 to the cost.

I've provided an odometer photo to show the car is not being used without the black box, but they are not budging.

This seems really unfair to me. The risk to them is reduced - he's not driving - so in effect it seems like money for nothing for them. But no. I either have to have him come home, drive round the block every month, or cancel the policy. Doesn't seem right.

Anyone been through this already and can advise? Without please making me talk to an AI agent for hours on end!

Thanks in advance.

Mildly_Miffed

Showing a photo of the odo is not any kind of proof that the car is not being used.

This comes back to another one of those "read the Ts & Cs you agreed to" cases. But at least you have a trivially easy work-around… use the car occasionally. It'll be good for the car, too.

flaneurs_lobster

Beware of getting ANY insurance policy cancelled - can make any future insurance more expensive.

Is your son the only driver of the car? Seems the solution is to add another driver, hopefully one who will not increase the premium by £300/yr, and as @Mildly_Miffed says, driving the car occasionally (with a bit of 5th gear) will keep it much happier than not moving for several months.

daveyjp

Black box insurance generally needs regular use of the vehicle so driving standards can be measured and this will be in the Ts and Cs.

There is nothing stopping you cancelling the policy and taking the finncial hit. This is far better than having it cancelled by the insurance company for breaching terms and conditions as this will have to be declared every time insurance is purchased.

Grumpy_chap

Is anyone else insured to use the car?

Get them to take the car on a journey that would have been made anyway and there is no need to do extra drives around the block. Drive mindfully.

I assume, also, that your son will be back and use the car during term breaks? If so, it is not many weeks between him being at home. If not, sell the car and he can get another one after finishing studies

Having a car unused is not good for the car.

Whatever you do, don't force an insurance cancellation as that will impact premiums for many years.

Herzlos

If the car isn't being used at all then you should consider what to do with it. It's terrible for the car and a waste of money.
If you do need to keep it for whatever reason, then cancel his insurance and insure it yourself for minimal use, and use it enough to stop the battery dying.

He'll probably do better with 1 additional year of driving history (with no actual driving) then paying for a years insurance. He can keep his NCD for 2 years, but the black box makes me think he's got minimal NCD already.

Goudy

The answer would seem to move the car once a week.

If it's insured and you have car insurance that allows you to drive other cars, you could pop to the shop in it once every weekend.

Remember to drive like a good boy, accelerate and brake gently and not speed!

Mildly_Miffed

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82189898#Comment_82189898

"except he has now gone to university" suggests he's 18, so a year post-test at most.

Herzlos

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82190252#Comment_82190252

Yeah that's more obvious now you mention it. So he's almost certainly paying a fortune to insure a car that he's not using.

The math will vary depending on the person, but I suspect the next years insurance will have dropped by less than the premium for insuring it this year compared to not having a car or insurance and 1 more year clean driving. Especially if he's away for 3-4 years.

For example, using completely fabricated numbers because it's impossible to predict.

With car: £3k insurance, then next year with 1 years NCD and 1 years experience it's only £2k.
Without car: £0 insurance, then next year with 0 NCD and 1 years experience it's £2.5k. It sounds more but you're still £2.5k up before you factor in the cost of keeping a car on a driveway.

Whilst it's bonkers that they don't differentiate between driving without making a claim and not driving at all, that's how the system works. The cheapest thing to do is pass the test as early as possible and then just wait until you need a car. Sure you might be 30 and not having actually driven without an instructor, but insurance companies see you as someone with 13 years of clean driving.