UK The Co-operative rewards safe young drivers with cash back

http://www.easier.com/93716-co-operative-rewards-safe-young-drivers-cash-back.html

The Co-operative rewards safe young drivers with cash back

16th August 2011Print Email Share
Nearly 90% of motorists with The Co-operative's Young Driver insurance will see over £100 returned to their bank accounts this month, after proving themselves as safe drivers.

The cash-back is a reward to motorists who have kept to speed limits, avoided excessive harsh braking and acceleration and taken corners carefully since the Young Driver scheme was launched in March.

The insurance product uses ‘Smartbox' telematics technology to monitor how a car is driven and ‘scores' behaviours every 90 days. If motorists make the top scores in all four categories (speeding, cornering, braking and acceleration, time of day of driving), they are given a partial refund on their initial premium.

David Neave, Director of General Insurance at The Co-operative, said: "Insurance has been rising at a disproportionate rate for young drivers, but telematics offers a genuine solution to stop this trend and prevent a generation of young people being driven off the roads.

"We believe that other insurers need to now play their part in finding similar solutions so that as an industry we can offer fairer prices to all young drivers in the UK.

"More than that, we can see that our ‘carrot' rather than ‘stick' approach of rewarding motorists for driving responsibly is leading to better driving behaviours. Our scheme is only in its infancy, but if it was taken up on a larger scale it could be a major step forward in improving the safety on Britain's roads."

Which? also believes that telematics car insurance policies have great potential to enable young drivers to get on the road and under their own insurance. Dan Moore, Senior Researcher at Which?, said: "Car insurance is very expensive and systems such as the Co-operative Young Driver scheme should help ensure that a new generation of drivers will have access to more affordable cover, and be rewarded for safe driving."

As well as rewarding safe drivers, motorists who drive consistently badly, for example repeatedly breaking speed limits or taking corners too sharply, will see penalties applied to their premiums up to 20% of their initial policy price. The Co-operative Insurance will also cancel a customer's insurance policy if they drive at a speed which would result in a driving ban.

Julie Townsend, Campaigns Director at road safety charity Brake, said: "A huge proportion of deaths and serious injuries on our roads involve young drivers, and many of the victims are young people themselves - road crashes are the biggest killer of this age group. Persuading young drivers to make safer choices is vital in preventing more lives being needlessly cut short. We applaud this scheme for rewarding young drivers who stay within the law and drive responsibly, such as by slowing down to give themselves more time to react to hazards.

"This is an innovative and practical way to help young people protect themselves and others. We hope it will help to pave the way to a safer driving culture among young people, and fewer devastating deaths and injuries on our roads. "

The data collected from a sample of 1,300 young drivers shows that nearly four in five (78%) consistently drive within speed limits. It also shows that 40% of males and 41% of females achieved the top score in all categories.

Young drivers are eligible for a maximum annual discount of 11% of the initial premium paid. Based on the driving behaviours shown in the first 90 days, the average discount being rewarded is 8.5% of the initial cost.

The average premium paid by customers with Young Driver insurance is £1,727 before discounts are applied, compared to the average premium of £2,294.