Telematics- arevwe beingbripped off?

[Ninalove]

Apologies for being long winded on this post.
Statistics will show that a large proportion of newly qualified drivers will be involved in a collision within the first year of driving. Telematics , the system of fitting a black box in the vehicle so that its movement etc can be monitored, is of value.
It should teach the driver to adapt their driving style in order to reduce their insurance premiums and to drive in a safe manner. I have no problem with this but my 17 yr old DD's insurance premium for this year is

£1709! This for a standard 2003 Mini One1594cc

This has to be accepted but it is the measurement of her driving ability that we should take issue with. There are 3 categories all measured and recorded on a scale from + 10. to -10

1. Speed - break the speed limit and your score for each journey is reduced OK

2 Smoothness- such as harsh braking, excessive cornering and steering also reduced on the above scale. OK

1. Usage- this is where the problem lies. This category is based on when you drive the vehicle. There are quite a lot of times during a 24 hour period which attracts a score ranging from - 7 to + 4. The driver can do nothing to influence this rating. The advice given is

Avoid short journeys
Avoid long journeys
Think about taking a taxi or a train
Her journey to school and her journey home gives a minus score
Her journey to a part time job gives a minus score
Her journey to a supermarket at midday gives a minus score
When is she supposed to drive?

So why is this Important?

Because there is an amalgamation of all three scores given to give an overall score ,which with the Usage category being so heavily loaded and subjective drags the average score down. Irregardless of her actual driving ability during the Usage period

In my DD's case her last 25 journeys are showing all + 10 s in the first two categories but in the 3rd Usage an average of - 3. So her overall score is 8.2 and this is what determines at the end of the year whether you get a reduction in your premium or not
AIBU to assume that the insurance companies do not want to give you a reduction?
I believe anyone in this situation is being " ripped off" and it is not something that we should just accept.
Incidentally, the insurance company is AVIVA but all companies have similar systems

You are probably right, however themselves the terms, and you would be really hard pushed to fight them. To be fair, her premium is bloody cheap for her age! Cost my brother nearly £3k at 17 for an old banger, with a black box, with my dad and step mum on as additional drivers (which reduced the cost).

The point I'm making is that 2 of the categories are objcetive whilstbthen3d is purely subjective
Is it the same on the Isle of Skye at those times or rural Wales or central London?
I can see a reason other that once it goes below 7 thee is no reduction in premiums

Here is her driving record so far

Driving in late evening is the riskiest time to drive and the score reflects that. You can get policies where new drivers are actually not allowed to drive at these peak risk times until they are more experienced. That's why they include this as a factor.

Up to you to find a policy that suits tbh. It doesn't look like you really did your homework.

How can what time you drive be subjective?! There's no debate - 11pm is 11pm.

Do you live in central London or the Isle of Skye? If you did then your premiums would be adjusted accordingly. Incidentally rural drivers pay far more as rural driving is much riskier.

It won't be subjective, it'll be based on the types of journey where the company's data says accidents are more likely to occur.

I understood that very short journeys, very long journeys and night time driving are the main things penalised. Would that tally with your daughter's scores?

I accept the points made but at £1700 pa when is she supposed to drive without incurring a penalty?

I don't think all those scores will be to do with time of day, maybe the latest/earliest ones. The thing that most stands out there is sheer number of trips, I wonder if that's a factor in the scoring.

Perhaps she could call the insurer and ask if they can give any guidance as to why she's scoring badly on that aspect? Was there no guidance when she took out the policy on what times of day they consider safer for example?

That's steep with a black box ...but 1600 mini is going to cost. It's a high insurance group.
We paid £1400 for a 1400 fiesta through aviva multi car. No bb included.

I'm on my phone so could only see the first few, but it does seem unfair that she's getting 10 for both of the actual driving categories and then the fact that she's using the car drags that score down.
Surely to gain experience and become a better driver you need to drive lots and at different times of day.
I passed my test in July and a combination of summer so nights are light and having young dc so not going out in the car late meant I really struggled in winter with driving in the dark. I'm getting used to it now but still don't really like it.

Most of the insurance cost for young drivers is nothing to do with the car or its value, its all about the fact that young drivers tend to have a car full of other young people and so the personal injury costs if they have a serious accident are sky high. Imagine the cost of full time care for 50+ years plus loss of earnings, plus cost of adaptations/wheelchairs etc.

I'm pretty sure the algorithms they use to calculate the risk of the journeys is very complex, and involves analysis of when and where drivers her age have accidents

Partly true CMOT, but some types of car are more likely to get involved in accidents than others, so car type does play a part. (As far as I know it still does anyway, it did last time we were car shopping.)

Having a Google around out of interest. Carrot seem to say the most about their usage formula, and 7 trips in the previous 24 h is one of their triggers for a penalty, plus driving after 11pm. It looks like your Dd's insurer may be using a more tapered version of that, the one that really got hit was the 6th trip that day and after 9pm too. If I'm guessing right then next time she's parked up for a couple of days and then goes shopping in daylight hours, you'd expect a good score.

The insurer won't be guessing. If they're penalising certain usage it'll be because their data says that type of driving results in more accidents. We can speculate as to why - maybe people making lots of trips tend to have had a very busy day and are more likely to get tired and lose concentration?

I feel your pain Op....my son and i paid £1500 with a black box to insure his peugeot 206....when i took out the policy for him i didnt take out enough miles....so i am now having to fork out for extra miles at an exorbitant cost.....thankfully the policy ends in May so we will be able to get rid of the box and the cost should drop dramatically.