Drivers expect to switch to black box car insurance by 2017

Almost six in 10 UK drivers believe they will move across to a telematics or ‘black box’ insurance policy in the next five years, a new study suggests.

According to research by Gocompare.com, 92 per cent of drivers think car insurance premiums should be based largely on the way they drive, not age or gender, while 97 per cent agree careful drivers should be rewarded with cheaper insurance.

Telematics technology operates via a small black box, roughly the size of a mobile phone, which is fitted to your car and measures driving behaviours such as time of travel, distance, types of roads used, speed, levels of acceleration and braking and accidents.

The insurer uses this information to generate a risk profile for your driving and charge a premium accordingly.

Scott Kelly, head of car insurance at Gocompare.com, said: “Given the rising costs of motoring, we think that the new generation of telematics car insurance policies will play a greater role in the car insurance market in the coming months.”