New data from Coverbox, the safer driving specialists, has revealed that young drivers are capitalising on the money saving benefits of black box insurance, and, contrary to some beliefs, that they are equally as competent on the roads as older, more experienced motorists.

Annual data collected over the course of 2018 found that drivers under 25 saved an average of £257.291 on their insurance policy at renewal, after switching to using black box insurance. In comparison, good drivers across all ages (those scoring 75+/100 on the Coverbox Driver Scale) can expect to save £267 with telematics insurance, putting young drivers in the same league when it comes to rewards for good quality driving.

These savings can be largely attributed to the black box device, fitted as part of the telematics policy. The device gathers data on all aspects of driving, including how, when and where the car is driven. This data is then used to build a detailed and accurate picture of how an individual drives. With this comprehensive understanding of each policyholder’s unique habits, premiums can be tailored specifically to fit each individual, with good drivers seeing financial rewards for safer practices.

This new data challenges the long held belief that young drivers have a disregard for road safety, with those who choose a telematics policy agreeing to share their driving data with their insurer. A telematics policy requires the policyholder to commit to having a device fitted in their car, enabling them to demonstrate their safe driving practices and achieve the financial savings possible. The driving data can be viewed on a personal online dashboard, allowing drivers to see where and how they can improve their driving and their driving score.

The cost of driving represents a considerable proportion of a young driver’s expenditure, with research carried out by Comparethemarket putting the annual cost of running a car for a 17-24 year old at £2,442 a year2. Insurance accounts for half of this cost, with the research also finding that 21 per cent of young people have cut back on saving for a property to fund their car, and 9 per cent have chosen to postpone further education in order to be able to afford to drive.

Martyne Miller, Associate Director at Coverbox said, “Young drivers have always faced an uphill struggle when it comes to buying traditional car insurance policies, with risk penalties and algorithms determining exceptionally high costs, despite the individual skill of the driver. A black box telematics policy can help to significantly reduce these costs, and the savings made by the young drivers on our books are the joint result of evidence led black box policies, and a willingness from young motorists to share their driving data to improve safety and be rewarded with savings.”

  1. Data provided by Coverbox and accurate as of 16/1/19
  2. Data from ComparetheMarket.com, accurate as of 15/1/19