My son will be sitting his driving test shortly and I’m looking at insurance quotes at the moment.

Couple of points I’ve noticed.

I thought by adding both my wife and I to the policy it would have come down in price slightly. Not so as it goes up around £200.

Any catch with ‘black box’ policies? Got a quote from direct line for a 2001 polo 1.4 with the 3 of us on the policy with their black box thing for £1015 which isn’t as bad as expected.

As the black box is a self fit gadget what’s to stop me fitting it in my own car rather then juniors? Illegal I know, and I wouldn’t do it as I’d rather know he was driving carefully, but surely an easy cheat for the unscrupulous person.

fine right up to the point where junior has a bump and there’s a claim… whereas the telemetry from the box says it was somewhere else, just sitting still…

I thought by adding both my wife and I to the policy it would have come down in price slightly. Not so as it goes up around £200.

It use to be the case (ie only a couple of years ago my sons policy reduced for hundreds with an older driver on), but he’s just renewed (now 3rd year) and it made bu99er all difference. Looks like that ‘discount’ has now gone.

For an old/cheap car I’d go with whichever is the cheapest policy for just you son, and then you and your wife just drive it 3rd party off your own policies – if that is you have policies. That is what we do with our elder two’s cars.

For an old/cheap car I’d go with whichever is the cheapest policy for just you son, and then you and your wife just drive it 3rd party off your own policies – if that is you have policies. That is what we do with our elder two’s cars.

Ah that sounds like a money saving plan then. that should get it down to around £800 with the telemetry box.

fine right up to the point where junior has a bump and there’s a claim… whereas the telemetry from the box says it was somewhere else, just sitting still…

I meant using the black box in another car when the correct car wasn’t being used.

Have a look to see if the pass plus will bring it down, some insurers (aviva for one) give a fair discount.

Check time limitations for the telematics. Not all have limitations. Often you can save a few quid by restricting hours ie not to be driven after 23:00 etc.

I meant using the black box in another car when the correct car wasn’t being used.

would probably be entirely counter productive as it would look like the new drive was doing massive miles, increasing the risk due to exposure, no matter how carefully the cars were driven.

Have you tried Aviva/Quotemehappy? At 29 having my father on my policy still reduces the cost by at least 25%, of course this may be different for new drivers.

Have you tried Aviva/Quotemehappy?

No, Go Compare and Direct Line so far.

yeh I saw the pass plus option so thats something to look at although I’m not sure there will be much saving once the cost of the course is accounted for.

The box knows what type of car its plugged into and that needs to match the insured vehicle, theres no point anyway, its an upfront discount with no restriction the only benefit would be you driving like a saint and getting a renewal discount for your son whilst he presumably drives poorly and doesn’t improve. Not in anyones interest.
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The box knows what type of car its plugged into and that needs to match the insured vehicle

How does it know that? Installation does not require any tools.

the only benefit would be you driving like a saint and getting a renewal discount for your son whilst he presumably drives poorly and doesn’t improve.

As I said its not something I would ever consider doing, but I could see how it could be taken advantage of.

It plugs into the cars On Board Diagnostic port giving it access to the engine managment data which is vehicle specific.
Theres one in my car, works well.

It plugs into the cars On Board Diagnostic port giving it access to the engine managment data which is vehicle specific.

Ah right, I wondered how it worked. I thought it used an accelerometer or something.

Got a quote from direct line for a 2001 polo 1.4 with the 3 of us on the policy with their black box thing for £1015

Holy crap

There are no hard and fast rules it depends on each insurer at the time

rocket jr 18 provisional licence 07 Fiesta ST three named drivers £475 More Th>n. No black box

Many phone calls and mucho online form-filling. Comparison sites complete waste of time

HTH

provisional licence

That’s why it’s so cheap. Watch it sky rocket when/if he passes.

rocket jr 18 provisional licence 07 Fiesta ST three named drivers £475 More Th>n. No black box

Yep, so he won’t be driving unsupervised then. 18 year old in a fiesta st, that insurance quote will be interesting when he’s got a full license.

Each insurer had their own guidlines. Some looked upon a full licence as an indication of ability and would reduce the premium. Some looked at it as a ticket for a drunken road trip

No hard and fast rules

right, I wondered how it worked. I thought it used an accelerometer or something.

It has that too and gps and a cellular data connection!

Each insurer had their own guidlines. Some looked upon a full licence as an indication of ability and would reduce the premium. Some looked at it as a ticket for a drunken road trip

No hard and fast rules

I’m not sure what you mean, did you get them to quote you for a full licence and a provisional?

Doesn’t matter as this is for a full licence, you’ll be looking at a big insurance bill when he passes.

Doesn’t matter as this is for a full licence, you’ll be looking at a big insurance bill when he passes.

+1

For my 17 y/o (as a provisional) it was another £300 to add him as a named driver on my car, but +£1000 to add either of my sons who already drive (20 and 21 y/o).

To put it into perspective, my premium is £175 (comp, no access and business cover).

rocket jr 18 provisional licence 07 Fiesta ST three named drivers £475 More Th>n. No black box

My eldest has one of those, best part of £1250 for him in 3rd year of been passed. His girlfriend though only pays £600 for hers…

Smudger Jr added to wife’s insurance on a KIA Rio for £18/month more than her £18/month premium while on a Provisional license.

once he’d passed, the same insurance jumped a further £60/month to have him as a named driver on her car. Wouldn’t like to think of the insurance if he had his own car.