Top 10 Black-Box Car Insurances

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Alexandre Desoutter updated on February 25, 2021

While there are plenty of different types of insurance out there to choose from when it comes to covering you and your vehicle, there are few that offer customised deals to suit your individual style of driving.

Black box car insurance offers a unique stance of car insurance that can help you pay a premium that’s suited to you as an individual, rather than a cost calculated by insurance statistic averages.

In today’s guide, we’re going to detail everything you need to know about insurance with black box, whether it’s for you, and how you can find the best deal.

What is black-box car insurance?

Here’s black box insurance explained.

Black box car insurance, also known as telematics box insurance, is a form of policy allowing you to prove how safe a driver you are by physically installing a black box into your car that then tracks your driving performance.

Some of the figures that are tracked include how fast and hard you brake, how fast you go around your corners, and your speed in relation to the geographical location you’re driving in.

Based on the information given by these driving habits, you’ll then have your premium set by your insurance provider; a insurance black box quote customised for you.

What are the 3 types of telematic insurance?

When asking what is black box insurance, there are three main types of black box insurance you need to think about.

What is offered on each type of best black box insurance can vary depending on what your provider is offering, and some types may mix with each other, but the basic lowdown is as follows;

Type of Black Box InsuranceDefinition of Black Box Insurance
Black Box insuranceThe most common form of box car insurance, your insurer will install a black box into your vehicle that then uses GPS tracking to monitor your driving performance.
Plug-and-drive insuranceInstead of installing a black box into the mechanics of your car, a plug-and-drive insurance policy will give you a device that plugs into your car through your vehicle’s cigarette lighter or dedicated charging port.
Smartphone app trackingInstead of installing anything, some insurers offer the ability to download a dedicated app to your smartphone which you can then activate while you’re driving to monitor your performance and driving style; all without the need for a dedicated device.
3 types of telematics insurances

How black box driving car insurance works exactly?

If you opt for car insurance with black box, you’ll be told by your provider to take your vehicle to an approved installer, which could be a dedicated service or an approved garage. You will need to show proof of ownership of the vehicle and prove your identity with a driving license and your logbook or V5C documentation.

The box tends to be small in size, nowadays a similar size to an average smartphone, which is then placed in a hidden location where you won’t be distracted by it.

The box is powered by the car and will track every movement of the car from the moment it’s activated. The information is then sent wirelessly to the insurance provider who will then process the data to give you customised premiums, whether that’s monthly (the most common policy type) or annually.

What are the best black box car insurances?

Ready to find the best black box car insurance policy for yourself? Check out these car insurances quotes with black box to see which one best suits you, your insurance style, and what they offer you.

Cheap black box insurance policies will vary depending on your individual driving style, who you are as a driver, and the vehicle you’re driving!

Black box insurance companiesQuotesFeatures of policy Opinion
logo general accident£3,880.89 per year
  • Offers a dedicated app that’s easily installed into your car as and when you need it
  • All data is handled automatically and you don’t need to do anything technical
  • All driving factors are taken into consideration
  • Offers a discount reward scheme for safe drivers to further reduce their premiums
  • Receive free email updates on your driving performance and tips on how to improve
  • Monitor all data taken through the dedicated free app or online through your own personal dashboard
  • Young driver insurance black box Deals for under 25s who have just passed their test to help them enjoy affordable insurance
logo hastings direct smart miles£2,296.63 per year
  • Hastings Direct Smart Miles offers access to free app to monitor all data collected about your driving performance
  • You can earn no claims discounts on your policy
  • Offers a 10% discount for student drivers
  • App is capable of helping you map out your journeys and offers driving tips in real-time to reduce your premiums
  • Drivers must drive less than 15,000 miles per year
  • You must mainly drive between the hours of 5am and 10pm to remain covered and not void your policy
  • Holds thousands of five-star black box car insurance reviews from drivers across the country
logo rac insurance 1£3,006.69 per year
  • Rac Black Box comes with free RAC breakdown cover to help protect you in a roadside breakdown situation
  • Offers no curfew times and allows you to choose your own customisable mileage limit
  • Offers no installation fees and will help you organise your installation process at a time and location you choose
  • Recommended by 9/10 of existing customers
  • One of the most trusted car insurance providers in the UKOffers free Motor Legal protection for the first 12 months of your policy
  • Offers both an uninsured driver guarantee and vandalism cover promise
cooperative logo£2,875 per year
  • Specifically designed for new and young drivers who want to start with driving with low premiums but want to move to a traditional policy within two years
  • Offers a free courtesy car guarantee in case you ever need it
  • No night time curfews to void your insurance, but driving between 11pm and 5am can affect your driving score
  • Earn discounts and reduced premiums for being a consistently safe driver
  • Offers business use black box car insurance, but some restricted do apply
  • Offers the ability to add optional extras such as motor legal expenses cover and UK breakdown cover
  • Allows discounts in premium with no claims bonuses and named driver discounts
  • Allows you to download the free dedicated smartphone app to track driving and offer more discountsNo policies available for black box insurance over 25
logo tesco bank box£3,012 per year
  • Offers third party to fully comprehensive policies to all drivers
  • Earn no claims discounts with every claim-free year
  • Guaranteed car insurance quotes with black box with discounts available for Tesco Club card members
  • Earn a bonus 100 miles for every safe driving month you complete
  • Advanced accident alerts that can contact the emergency services on your behalf
  • Provides a full 24/7 customer helpline for whenever you need help with your policy
  • Monitor all driving data using the dedicated dashboard or through the free dedicated driving app
  • You can buy more miles to add onto your policy as and when you need them
  • Offers free theft tracking technology that can be used by police to help locate your car if its stolen
logo admiral little box£4,831.68 per year
  • The safer you drive, you’ll be offered discounts on your premium every month
  • Free dedicated theft tracking to help you get your car back safely and quickly
  • Choose whatever mileage limit you want, as long as its over 1,900 miles per year
  • Offers discounts with their single car and multicar policies
  • Holds five-star ratings from thousands of policy customers across the country
  • Rated a five-star insurance provider by Defaqto
  • See all driving performance information through the website
coverbox logo£3,600 per year
  • Free access to dedicated driver dashboard on your computer or smartphone
  • All call lines open 24/7 every day of the year
  • You can protect your excess and your no claims discount
  • Easy installation that you can plug into your vehicle yourself
  • Uses leading insurance providers such as Aviva and Axa to provide you a variety of insurance policies and potential cover benefits
  • Pay as you drive based on the miles you do, not a predetermined limit
  • Receive regular tips on how to reduce premiums and drive safer
  • Consistently average reviews on how good the service of this provider is
logo bell£2,978 per year
  • Offers policies with no curfews or mileage limits
  • Offers plug-and-drive policies with no need to install a black box into your car
  • Works by recording six months worth of data you then send back to Bell to receive your discounts
  • Not a fully automatic real-time process to recording and sending off data wirelessly
  • Insurance policies provided by Admiral with all included benefits they provide
logo ingenie£2,486 per year
  • Designed specifically with young and new drivers in mind between the ages of 17 and 30.
  • Both learner drivers and full license holders can use these policies.
  • Does not offer cover for short-term cover, business and commercial use
  • Earn no claims discounts with this policy
  • Earn your discounts every time you renew
  • Offers fully comprehensive policy plans
  • Data tracking offered by a self-fit device that’s sent in the post to install when you can
  • Policies have proven to reduce the risk of you being involved in an accident by as much as 400%
Top 10 best black box insurance

How much is black box car insurance?

To give you another breakdown on averages, here’s a table detailing how much you can expect to pay for telematics car insurance and to answer the question of is a black box worth it?

Age RangeAverage Premiums with Telematics InsuranceAverage Premiums without Telematics Insurance
17-20 £1,200£2,000
20-25£1,000£1,360
25-35£820£840
35-39£700£575
40-49£630£420
50-55£540£315
55+£520£290
Average premium price with and without telematics

Who would need a black box car insurance?

Most commonly, young drivers, drivers with motoring convictions, and inexperienced drivers will benefit the most from a black box car insurance UK policy.

Asking the question should i get black box insurance? Since new and young drivers are fresh on the roads, statistics clearly state they are more likely to be involved in a car accident or motoring situations, simply due to lack of experience. However, this averagely results in higher premiums, which may not be fair if you are a safe driver.

Using a black box insurance policy means you’ll be able to prove that you’re a safe and competent driver and you won’t have to rely on the typically high prices that statistics force providers to use.

If you’ve had motoring convictions in the past, you can prove you’re a safe and reformed driver but using a black box insurance policy that shows that you, in fact, playing by the rules and driving within the boundaries of the law.

What cover black box insurance?

Just the same as typical car insurance, black box car insurance policies operate using the three standard policy types. These are;

Type of InsuranceDefinition of Insurance Type
Third Party Insurance
  • Minimum insurance legal requirement
  • Third party car insurance covers you for any damage you do in an accident to another person, their property and their vehicle
Third Party, Fire, and Theft
  • Same as third party insurance
  • You'll also be covered for damages and losses as a result of a fire and theft incident subjected to your vehicle
Fully Comprehensive
  • The most complete form of car insurance
  • Covers you for everything listed above in the other policy types
  • Also any damages subjected to your vehicle, and extras, such as windshield cover, loss of keys, breakdown cover, European cover, and more (depending on your provider)
Black box insurance coverage

Does having a black box reduce car insurance?

Using a black box car insurance policy can definitely help to lower your premiums, but whether you’ll reduce your premiums will depend on how you drive as an individual.

If you drive recklessly, brake hard and fast, speed above national legal limits, drive an excessive number of miles, or drive at high-risk times of the day (such as typical rush hours or at night) your premiums can be much higher, even more so than a traditional car insurance policy.

Good to know

It’s always a good idea to think about when you’re going to be driving and what kind of driving style you have to see whether the benefits of black box insurance outweigh the cons. Make sure you also follow all black box insurance rules to avoid voiding your policy!

Does black box car insurance can detect collision?

If you find yourself in an accident situation or a collision, yes, your black box will detect this impact and will record the data from it.

The majority of black boxes have the capability to measure the G-force of a vehicle while traveling and it will notice the impact. This can be very beneficial because it can help your insurance provider to understand exactly what happened during a crash and what your reactions were, helping them to deal with the situation much more effectively than if no black box was present.

Are there extra fees coming with black box insurance?

Depending on your provider, you may have to pay some extra fees on top of your insurance premium, so you’re going to need to make sure you’re aware of these so you can afford to pay them at the activation of your policy.

The fees can be as follows;

  • Installation fees - If you have a physical black box in your car, you may need to pay to have the box installed by a professional and approved fitter.
  • Removal Fees - Once your policy is over and you plan to remove your black box, you may have to pay a fee to have the box removed.
  • Reinstallation/Transfer - If you change cars at any point in the policy, you may need to pay to transfer your black box to the new vehicle, you may need to pay for this process.
  • Replacements/Repairs - If your black box becomes broken or needs replacing due to a fault or through damage you’ve caused, you may need to pay for the replacement fee.
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Alexandre Desoutter
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Alexandre Desoutter has been working as editor-in-chief and head of press relations at HelloSafe since June 2020. A graduate of Sciences Po Grenoble, he worked as a journalist for several years in French media, and continues to collaborate as a as a contributor to several publications.

In this sense, his role leads him to carry out steering and support work with all HelloSafe editors and contributors so that the editorial line defined by the company is fully respected. and declined through the texts published daily on our platforms.

As such, Alexandre is responsible for implementing and maintaining the strictest journalistic standards within the HelloSafe editorial staff, in order to guarantee the most accurate, up-to-date information on our platforms. and expert as possible. Alexandre has in particular undertaken for two years now the implementation of a system of systematic double-checking of all the articles published within the HelloSafe ecosystem, able to guarantee the highest quality of information.