We answer all your questions on what telematics and black box insurance is, and how it works to reduce your premium.
What does telematics mean?
Telematics is when vehicle data is recorded. It uses GPS tracking and your car’s diagnostics to record and transmit information about your vehicle.
Vehicle data means things like the speed the car drives at, or what time of day or night you’re usually driving.
For insurers, telematics is used for products like black box insurance.
What is black box insurance?
Black box insurance is a type of car insurance. It’s where a small device is fitted in your car which measures how you drive, to reward safe drivers with a reduced premium.
A lot of insurers now offer a type of black box insurance. At Admiral, we call ours LittleBox insurance.
We also offer LittleBox Plug and Drive and LittleBox Pod, which are both products you can install in your car yourself. You can’t choose which type of LittleBox you get – we decide based on a few risk factors.
This type of insurance is usually aimed at younger, newer drivers who are looking for ways to reduce their renewal price.
While a telematics policy is often aimed at young, new drivers, black box insurance can be for any safe driver looking for a reduced premium, no matter what age.
How does a black box work?
It’s a small unit which is fitted into your car. It monitors how you drive, looking at things like:
- what time of day and night you drive
- speed and acceleration
- braking
- miles covered
As well as giving you feedback on how to improve your driving, it uses all the data it collects to work out a driving score.
This driving score determines the discount you could get at renewal. The better your score, the better your discount could be.
Will you cover my car?
Different insurers will have different eligibility criteria. For us, your car needs to:
- under 15 years old
- worth more than £250
- cover more than 1,000 miles a year
Where are black boxes fitted?
It’s a small unit which is usually fitted behind the car’s dashboard or on the car’s battery, but can also be elsewhere in the car, such as near the engine.
Wherever it is, it’s usually very discreet. Passengers won’t usually know you have a black box fitted unless you let them know.
Some devices will need to be fitted by one of your insurer’s engineers. With others, you can fit them yourself.
For instance, we offer a type of black box insurance called LittleBox Pod – with this one, it's just a small device you fit to your windscreen yourself. Some other insurers offer similar products.
If you have one of our self-install products, you’ll need to fit it within 15 days of receiving it.
Why should I choose black box insurance?
Black box insurance gives you more control over the cost of your insurance and can help good drivers get a better price.
If you’re in a more high-risk group, such as young or inexperienced drivers, then it could be a good idea for you as it gives you a chance to prove yourself as a safe driver.
Also, our original LittleBox product is fitted with theft tracking - so if your car is stolen, we can help the police to recover it. This doesn't apply to Little Box Plug and Drive or Little Box Pod.
Myths about black box insurance
Some people think telematics technology is there to catch people out, but it’s just there to make sure drivers can try to get a good price for their car insurance.
We don’t share your data with anyone else – it’s just so you can show you’re a safe driver.
If you don’t drive very well and don’t get a good driving score, you may not get a discount at renewal – but we'll never put your price up during your current policy term.
But it is important to note that if you drive extremely unsafely or have a consistently poor driving score, we may cancel your policy.
This is the same for a lot of insurers, so it’s important you drive safely when you have a black box product installed.
Check out our telematics mythbuster to find out some other common misconceptions about telematics and black box insurance.
Black box insurance for vans
It’s not just car drivers looking for ways to bring down the cost of insurance. Van drivers, particularly younger drivers just starting out, can also face higher premiums.
This is why we introduced Admiral LittleBox for Van – we want to make insurance affordable for all our customers, including van drivers of any age.
It works just the same as our normal telematics box and is also fitted with theft tracking. Again, this doesn’t apply to Little Box Pod or Plug and Drive.
Will you cover my van?
We can fit LittleBox into most vans on the market, including pick-ups and tippers up to 3.5 tonnes, but if you’re unsure please contact us to double check.
Your van must be:
- under 15 years old
- worth more than £750
- cover over 1,900 miles a year
