The Car thread - The Bear and Badger

igorgetmeabrain

Does anyone have a 'smart box' thing in their car? Â It's that thing that's fitted by your insurers and is designed to assess certain aspects of your driving (e.g. how much you habitually rev, brake etc) and then award you lower insurance premiums if you're deemed to be driving in a sensible fashion. Â I'm sceptical but I'm renewing and have been offered one.

Originally introduced last year for young drivers, it appears to be available to everyone else now too.

More info

[Deleted User]

Hell no, never!

It will start off with people making some discounts, then the normal price will become the discout price and anyone revving over 3k will have a nice heavy premium added.

Fuck that shit.

igorgetmeabrain

Well, it is entirely optional but if it's genuinely going to save me money, why not? Â Also, it might encourage those people who choose to use it to drive more intelligently and economically. Â It's more a question of whether the box actually assesses these aspects of driving fairly or not.

[Deleted User]

Most likely not.

I don't trust insurance companies in the slightest, money grabbing bastards is what they are and this is just another way to doctor insurance premiums as far as I can tell.Â
They rip people off with premiums then roll them over for round two if a claim is made.

igorgetmeabrain

I'm aware of that - they've shafted me at every available opportunity in the past. Â I'm just wondering whether or not I'll actually save any money by having a box fitted, or whether it's a waste of time. Â For one thing, I'm sceptical about the accuracy of the tech involved in assessing how 'well' I drive.

[Deleted User]

I think you are right to be sceptical, all it will be able to monitor is speed, acceleration and revs surely. Without location not much can be read from speed or revs, you could be going 60 through a housing estate but with nice gradual gear changes for all it knows.

If it does have GPS then that is an even bigger no no for me, I don't want to be monitored by my insurance company everywhere I go.

Do you have to have it on for the length of the policy or just a test period? If it is a test period then it is already massively flawed.

Edit: the box you mentioned has obviously rubbed me up the wrong way, but I'm not having a go at you personally igor, don't want to come across as a dick.

igorgetmeabrain

Here's how it works in practice apparently. Â Not sure how it assesses your speed - it does have GPS though I think, so perhaps it can figure out if you're exceeding the speed limit on any given road.

I came across it here and was offered a couple of lowish quotes that included the smartbox.

[Deleted User]

Fair enough, I wouldn't have it on my car but it's up to you.

Mines on classic insurance anyway and I can't see the classic car enthusiasts going for this.

mk64

igor, my main worry about that is that if i need to go somewhere in a hurry and do break the speedlimit that it'll know and could be used against me. Otherwise i would because i do fuck all miles and have monster insurance.

g.man

I do not think this technology would be beneficial to me.

pass

g.man

igorgetmeabrain

mk64 wrote:

igor, my main worry about that is that if i need to go somewhere in a hurry and do break the speedlimit that it'll know and could be used against me. Otherwise i would because i do fuck all miles and have monster insurance.

Your insurance premiums could go up by up to 20% apparently if the box thinks you're a bad driver, so driving around speedily could well cause you problems. Â It's not a stealth thing though - you have a constant readout of your overall performance which indicates what needs improving if you're to benefit from reduced premiums. Â It's supposed to take account of your habitual driving style, so if you exceed the speed limit on one occasion it's not like getting caught by a speed camera, it'll just be a blip on the dial which can be rectified by driving at more sensible speeds from then on.

Skerret

danclarke wrote:

Elise 111s (actual car shown - I miss this one the most):

What is that, 2002, 2003? In this country, that would be considered a car that wealthy people would buy. There's an 03 111s on carsales for 50k. It's ridiculous. I might come and live UK-side for 12 months just so I can get a fun drive to bring home that won't cost me half a fucking house.

g.man

igorgetmeabrain wrote:

mk64 wrote:

igor, my main worry about that is that if i need to go somewhere in a hurry and do break the speedlimit that it'll know and could be used against me. Otherwise i would because i do fuck all miles and have monster insurance.

Your insurance premiums could go up by up to 20% apparently if the box thinks you're a bad driver, so driving around speedily could well cause you problems. Â It's not a stealth thing though - you have a constant readout of your overall performance which indicates what needs improving if you're to benefit from reduced premiums. Â It's supposed to take account of your habitual driving style, so if you exceed the speed limit on one occasion it's not like getting caught by a speed camera, it'll just be a blip on the dial which can be rectified by driving at more sensible speeds from then on.

FUCK THAT.

igorgetmeabrain

I'm all for it if it saves me money. Â I'm just not sure how fairly it will assess my driving.

Skerret

g.man wrote:

igorgetmeabrain wrote:

mk64 wrote:

igor, my main worry about that is that if i need to go somewhere in a hurry and do break the speedlimit that it'll know and could be used against me. Otherwise i would because i do fuck all miles and have monster insurance.

Your insurance premiums could go up by up to 20% apparently if the box thinks you're a bad driver, so driving around speedily could well cause you problems. Â It's not a stealth thing though - you have a constant readout of your overall performance which indicates what needs improving if you're to benefit from reduced premiums. Â It's supposed to take account of your habitual driving style, so if you exceed the speed limit on one occasion it's not like getting caught by a speed camera, it'll just be a blip on the dial which can be rectified by driving at more sensible speeds from then on.

FUCK THAT.

Agreed.

Unlikely

lolnothanks

Skerret

Actually, if I wire one of you chaps the cash to buy me a second hand Aston Martin, I could have you emigrate with the car, decide after a week sleeping on my couch that Melbourne is not for you, I get my car and you go home richer for the experience (though not in monetary terms).

Mod74

You can wire me the money for an Aston. I'll PM my bank details.

MattyJ

Re: The spy box thing, I think for brand new drivers it could work well, as it will keep teaching young drivers to be more careful and steady in their driving, until they get more time under their belt. It would be great if they significantly reduced the premiums for young drivers when this is fitted, so rather than Â£1000 for insurance it would be more like Â£500.

Mod74

It would be great if it did anything to tackle driver fatigue, intoxication or concentration instead of fixating on speed the same way government has leading to accident deaths going up last year.

As it doesn't do any of the above I think it's a waste of time and just one more way insurance companies bend you over a barrel.

[Deleted User]

All valid points Matty and it will start off being Â£500 instead of a Â£1000, but eventually it will even out to be Â£1000 with the box and Â£1500 without.

My concern is they can't give everyone a cheaper premium or they won't make money. Only people like igor who drive within the confines of the law 100% of the time (not that I want to open that debate up again) will want one fitted.
So you have a handful of people on cheaper premiums with a box fitted, but who is picking up the bill for their cheaper policy and the cost of the box itself?

Also my 5+ years no claims (never had to have made a claim) and never having points on my license should be enough.

igorgetmeabrain

@Matty - Well that's why it was introduced, because it's extremely difficult for inexperienced/young drivers to find affordable insurance. Â I'd be surprised if it's possible for any 17yr old male to find insurance for as little as Â£1000. Â I think it's generally more like Â£2000+ with a saving of around Â£400 with a good smartbox rating.

I don't know how successfully it's worked for the past year but it's now seemingly being voluntarily rolled out to everyone else. Â The reaction to it here appears to be universal aversion but I'm not sure whether that's distrust of the insurance companies (i.e. they're just looking for opportunities to put up premiums for those whose driving's considered unreasonable) or unwillingness to have one's driving style 'managed' in such a manner. Â Seems like a reasonable incentive to me to encourage safer, more responsible driving, if it works.

MattyJ

What percentage saving are they giving you if you have it?

igorgetmeabrain

I'm not exactly sure as I haven't pursued a relevant quote yet - it may depend on a number of factors and, besides, may not kick in until after you've had it fitted for some time, to allow sufficient data to be collected.

EDIT: Â Apparently, your premiums are recalculated every 90 days with a smartbox fitted. Â You sign up to a 12 month insurance deal as usual but then you get rebates throughout the year if your driving is good or are penalised if not (up to 11% rebate or 15% increase).

MattyJ

That's the real issue. The incentive needs to be very significant in order for it to appeal to people. I now have 7 years no claims bonus, so I've proved I am a safe driver. Why should that box matter to my premium?

Skerret

Mod74 wrote:

You can wire me the money for an Aston. I'll PM my bank details.

Hmm, ok then.

igorgetmeabrain

It may not make much of a difference to your premium Matty - I'm not sure. Â It may well help mine though because I lost some NCB when a cyclist rode into me last year.

[Deleted User]

(up to 11% rebate or 15% increase)

BINGO

igorgetmeabrain

An 11% discount would be extremely helpful to me.

Mod74

I think I'd rather shop around, increase my excess or do an IAM course rather than drive everywhere staring at the speedo because I was worried what some box was recording.

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