Telematics

Is pay-as-you-go insurance the right cover for you?

pay as you go insurance
Low mileage drivers should look at pay-as-you-go insurance (Picture iStock/Kameleon007)

You might well use pay-as-you-go for your mobile phone. It does after all seem fair enough to only pay for what you use. So what about pay-as-you-go car insurance? It’s becoming increasingly popular with drivers and according to comparison site Compare the Market, a fifth of car owners could save money by insuring in this way.

How does pay-as-you-go insurance work?

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Big fuel savings for better drivers. We show you how to reap them

Fuel savings

Drivers who’re more aggressive at the wheel could use significantly more fuel

Drivers with a light foot can save themselves £562 a year according to a new report. By anticipating the road ahead better, drivers can save money at the pumps and almost halve the amount they have to fill up every year.

Insurer Direct Line compiled the findings using information from drivers with telematics ‘black boxes’ fitted to their cars. It analysed 319,000 journeys over a two-month period and concluded calm, less aggressive drivers can make big fuel savings of nearly £11 a week.

What did the report find out?

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Telematics: How new Alert Me is helping to make cars clever

Green Flag Alert Me

Breaking down could become a thing of the past with telematics

Technology that only a few years ago would have seemed like a dream is now coming to a car near you. The latest can predict if your car is going to break down. It’s estimated it could save British drivers 38,000 hours waiting for roadside rescue with their conked-out car.

Green Flag Alert Me plugs into the car’s On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) port. From there, the matchbox-sized device monitors the car’s battery and electronic brain. This enables it to record changes such as the battery failing to hold its charge before the driver would ordinarily notice them. If it does see changes, Alert Me reports it to Green Flag over the mobile phone network. Green Flag then notifies the driver via a smartphone app. Continue reading

Insuring young drivers: What’s the best way?

Insuring young drivers

She may be ready to drive. But are her parents ready for what it’ll cost?

For many young drivers, becoming 17-years old and being able to drive is one of the high points of their life. For many parents it means anxiety and extra expense. The majority of young drivers probably won’t be lucky enough to have their own car instantly, and are likely to have to borrow mum’s or dad’s.

This means parents must make insurance arrangements, but what impact does insuring young drivers have on a typical premium? And when it comes to covering a car in their name, what’s the best way to go about it? We get some answers by talking to experts and parents about their experiences.

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How young drivers can cut motoring costs

Not every young driver can afford a new car... But whatever they choose, the smaller and safer the better (Picture © Peugeot)

Not every young driver can afford a new car… But whatever they choose, the smaller and safer the better (Picture © Peugeot)

Being a young driver is a tricky business. Not only do they have the astronomical cost of fuel to contend with but they also get stung on the price of car insurance. And then of course there’s the purchase price of the car to consider as well. But there are some steps youngsters can take to cut the cost of driving.

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