Young motorists who drive well for two years can switch off black box: insurer

Young motorists who can prove for two years that they are good drivers will be able to “graduate” onto an insurance deal where they can switch off their black box and receive discounted rates.

Co-op Insurance’s “graduated young driver” policy will offer drivers who have been on Co-op’s young driver telematics policy for two years with a high safe driving score the opportunity to have their black box turned off.

Good drivers will be able to graduate from a monitored to an unmonitored policy in their third year.

A graduated young driver may typically be offered a premium of around £827.54 in their third year, saving around £322 compared with the typical cost for someone on Co-op’s young driver telematics policy.

Telematics or black box insurance policies allow drivers’ cars to be fitted with a device which monitors how well people drive.

Co-op said young drivers’ black box safe driving score is based on several factors, their speed, how they take corners, how hard they brake and accelerate and the time of day they drive.

Black box policies may be particularly appealing to younger drivers as they generally tend to be offered higher insurance premiums due to higher accident rates in their age group.

By using a black box, they may be able to cut the cost of the policy they are offered, based on their actual driving.

Co-op said graduated drivers will continue to benefit from discounted rates for up to eight years including the two years on black box policies, on top of any no claims discounts they may have built up.

It said that while the young driver policy is particularly targeted at 17 to 24-year-olds, people over that age can take it out.

Nick Ansley, head of motor insurance at Co-op said: “We’ve seen just how impactful black box devices are on the driving behaviour of young people.

“From our data, we can see that it’s a great way of improving the safety of young drivers on the roads and we believe that responsible driving should be rewarded.”