Black Box Insurance

Has your 'black box' insurer cancelled your insurance?

Over 1 million motorists in the UK, many of them young drivers, now have Telematic insurance policies. This means that their driving is constantly monitored. Insurers can reward those who drive carefully, but they can also penalised motorists who exceed a speed limit, break too hard, corner too quickly, or even drive at the wrong time. Too many adverse incidents like these can result in not only an increase in premiums, but even cancellation of an insurance policy. Some insurers have particularly stringent terms and conditions which allow them to withdraw cover if just three adverse events occur in a single year.

It needn't be your fault

If you are driving down the motorway and a lunatic on a mobile phone drifts into your path, causing you to break hard, it will register as a black mark. If you have to accelerate because someone coming onto a major road from a slip road gets too close to you, you may exceed the speed limit momentarily, and that will go down on the record, too. Swerve to avoid a pothole in the road and your score is increasing.

You may find yourself 'uninsurable'

Too many incidents like these, none of which may be your fault, can result in your insurance policy being cancelled, or having special conditions imposed on it.

If you tried to buy insurance, the majority of insurers may turn you down flat, or offer stratospheric premiums. There will be no point in you trying to get quotes through a price comparison service since most of them will not offer them to motorists in your circumstances.

This is where a broker can help

A decade ago, drivers looking for car insurance would go to a local broker who would ring up a number of insurance companies in order to find the best, or cheapest, quotation. Nowadays most policies are bought through automatic systems after the customer has filled in an application form. This is fine for the majority of drivers, but no use to the hundreds of thousands of car owners whose circumstances are different to the norm.

Go to a specialist

General insurance brokers like to deal with experienced, middle aged drivers with popular family cars. It is easy to find quotations for them from multiple insurers. However, customers with a problem driving record, those whose cover has been cancelled for some reason or those who have been refused insurance by other companies can be difficult to deal with, since most insurers simply will not touch them. A specialist broker, however, will bve able to pick the telephone up, and discuss your own circumstances with underwriters or other insurance company staff who can take a more sensible view of the possibilities of your being involved in a claim in the future.

It pays to be upfront

Some insurers, particularly the cheapest ones, can be reluctant to pay out on a claim if they find an excuse to do so. Failing to disclose anything that they feel they should have known about before offering you cover could result in your claim being refused, with possibly catastrophic results for you. Your broker, however, should explain all your circumstances carefully to make sure that you not only got the best possible quotation, but that the insurer was fully aware of any relevant issues.

Get quotes now

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