http://www.confused.com/car-insurance/telematics-explained

I guess it is a personal choice really. I know that in theory it is supposed to save you money

I personally wouldn't

that would cost me money - i accelerate quickly if not speeding and i think this is the slippery slope.

Are they going to use the data for anything else in the long run to sell you appropriate products from their "partners" once they know where you go and when and how often.

Id feel i had to inhibit my driving pleasure to save a few pennies every day. - i guess it will be the norm in a few years.

shite, don't even bother...

if people start taking up the offer of 'cheaper' insurance and have a tracker fitted, it won't be long before they will force everyone to have them fitted and it will remove all the freedom and enjoyment we get from driving. no one will be able to go for a drive without worrying about getting 'fined' by the insurance company for driving outside of the hours dictated by the company or for accelerating or cornering faster than the company says you can.

also the police and the government will have access to the data if they want it. so it won't be unimaginable they will be able find a way to tax you on it, maybe according to mileage, what roads you drive on and at what times...

Edited 19 August, 201214 yr by polo45

when i passed ( june) i had the awful situation of trying to find insurance with a claim against me at 17, i looked everywhere, i was getting quotes of 3k on a 1.0 lupo, this came up cheap though at only 2k,i thought about it, and did i really want them to know where i was going,what speed i was doing, not being able to drive at night ( being in at 11 or getting a £30 fine) and limited to quite short miles but if you go over the miles it gets ridiculous price per mile wise, i decided no so i kept looking calling up companys ect.... in the end i got a qoute off admiral for 1.6k which is very good, I'm glad i didnt go with the box and waited due to me doing 3000 miles in 3 months and there policy they offered me was only 6000, call up admiral and get a qoute best thing i ever did, persoanlly i wouldnt go with one of the box companys and try and fine an insurance without it otherwise i guess it would take some driving pleasure away as you will be permanently looking at your miles,speed and time you are out

See a big part of me actually thinks this is a good idea. This doesn't really affect me as my renewal quote was something like £170 fully comp on the GT so dont think they could get it much cheaper than that :) There are a lot of idiot drivers about and if this helps even 0.1% of them drive better then it cant be a bad thing. However I cant help but feel this is the start of something, what with the nanny state we already live in this is just another trump up the sleeve of big brother

It's a lot less 'big brother' than it sounds

Is it fuck. It's pure facism.

You are the customer of your insurer, they want an excuse to take your money without paying out. This is effectively your insurer sitting in the passenger seat, taking notes, seeing what they can find to reject any claim. True?

Insurers exchange information. If one thinks you're high risk, this can seriously threaten your chances with other insurers. True?

Well, some may say this is acceptable. My problem is that i've never claimed on an insurance policy in my 21yr motoring life, and the only accidents i've had were when i was driving slowly and sensibly. Yet such a passenger would have his pen smoking on the few occasions i give the car some beans - such as when pulling out of junctions and getting straight up to speed (getting out of danger), overtaking (getting out of danger).. And just generally using the vehicle within it's abilities when it's suitable to do so.

And then there are other drivers being horribly dangerous, yet in a way this wouldn't pick up - how does it know that, whilst i'm driving like a grandad, i haven't just pulled out on someone or cut them up, blissfully ticking along..? It's hopelessly flawed. True?

I think so, and i don't see how any salesman is gonna convince me otherwise. Accept this if you're a complete mug, or if you don't mind waving every right you have. They'll try to fit cctv in the passenger compartment next. It stinks, and i'll never support it.

I love your articulations Mikey. Very valid points and very well put

when i passed ( june) i had the awful situation of trying to find insurance with a claim against me at 17, i looked everywhere, i was getting quotes of 3k on a 1.0 lupo, this came up cheap though at only 2k,i thought about it, and did i really want them to know where i was going,what speed i was doing, not being able to drive at night ( being in at 11 or getting a £30 fine) and limited to quite short miles but if you go over the miles it gets ridiculous price per mile wise, i decided no so i kept looking calling up companys ect.... in the end i got a qoute off admiral for 1.6k which is very good, I'm glad i didnt go with the box and waited due to me doing 3000 miles in 3 months and there policy they offered me was only 6000, call up admiral and get a qoute best thing i ever did, persoanlly i wouldnt go with one of the box companys and try and fine an insurance without it otherwise i guess it would take some driving pleasure away as you will be permanently looking at your miles,speed and time you are out

thats cheap from admiral! did you put named drivers etc? thanks.

I'm a new driver too, I looked into this but after thinking about it I agree with what most people are saying here. We live in enough of a police state as it is already. You don't want to run the risk of being charged for going out late if it's an emergency for example, or for the speeds you might go, as it's already been said what if it's an unavoidable situation? It won't make people better drivers, won't stop them fiddling with their radio or applying their make up on the motorway. Although sadly teenage drivers might find these devices their only option in the future.

Mikey they have started to offer putting cameras in your car connected up with the gps stuff but you have to stump out for the camera in the first place makes it even more of a joke and i would never go with one of these things either

Not even Hitler planned to do that, Pete. Drivers in Iraq had more privacy under Saddam Hussein.

But it's all about pushing the boundaries - if people will let them dictate, they'll dictate. And they want to. Never have our civil liberties been harder hit than today with regard to that element.

People pathetically dismiss it as being something we can do nothing about. Monkeys. Supply and demand, survival of the fittest, it's all the same principal - insurers will say "do this or not be insured". But if we all refuse, all insurers will be out of a job. They'll say it's legislation, but that fails if it's impossible to enforce against democracy. They still go out of business, the government almost loose grip on our financial infrastructure before inevitably backing down and having a cabinet re-shuffle.

It amazes me how people let us get walked over. 70 million people, in this country alone, are not being forced to do anything by a building full of ball point pens if we don't agree to it. The law is our tool for our benefit, not to empower wannabe dictators.