This camera could save you 10% on your car insurance
Insurer Swiftcover has announced that it will be discounting premiums for drivers who have a dashcam installed in their car.
Insurer Swiftcover is now offering reduced car insurance premiums for motorists using a dashcam while driving.
A dashcam is a small camera positioned to film the driver’s view. New Swiftcover customers who use one will receive a discount of 10% on their premium, saving an average of £33 a year. This 10% reduction will not be applied to add-ons, just the base cost of the premium.
Dashcams are already widely used internationally, and they’re becoming more popular with motorists in the UK – sales increased by 28% between October and December of 2013, according to Swiftcover's research.
Why would an insurer offer a discount?
The cameras are useful for determining fault in the event of an accident, as they can provide video evidence for cases where liability is disputed. This protects drivers who are not at fault by preserving their no-claims discount and possibly means they will get their insurance excess recovered from the other party.
Sending footage of an accident to their insurance company could help with the swift resolution of the dispute, meaning that they can move onto other cases more quickly. The cameras also protect drivers from ‘cash for crash’ scams, which means that insurers don’t lose out to claims made by fraudsters either.
Roman Bryl, Product Manager at Swiftcover, explained: “Reducing the cost of premiums for responsible motorists is what every insurer should be doing. We believe that by using a dashcam and being able to accurately and quickly establish who was at fault, we will save money and therefore motorists will significantly benefit from lower premiums and more responsible driving.”
Swiftcover expects, where possible, car insurance policyholders to send video evidence if involved in an accident.
Compare car insurance with lovemoney.com
How much do they cost?
One cost to balance here is the discount on your car insurance policy against the outlay of buying a dashcam. At major retailers they tend to cost between £70 and £200, meaning that they’ll pay for themselves (by the above estimate of a £33 saving per year) in three to seven years.
However, it’s also an investment that could possibly save you hundreds of pounds on rises in your insurance premiums and excess payments if you were to have an accident and lose your no-claims bonus. Since the discount is percentage based, those with higher premiums will actually find the cameras paying for themselves faster.
Cutting your car insurance costs
While the dashcam may save you cash on your insurance with Swiftcover, that doesn't guarantee that the insurer will automatically be your best bet. Be sure to compare car insurance quotes using a comparison engine like ours to get a better idea of what premiums you can expect.
There are also a number of things you can do to further cut your car insurance costs, such as adding a second driver and improving your car's security. For more read 25 ways to cut your car insurance.
Do you have a dashcam, and would you recommend buying one? Has it helped you protect your no-claims bonus in an accident that wasn’t your fault? Let us know in the Comments below.
Compare car insurance policies and see if you could save
More on car insurance:
25 ways to cut your car insurance
How motor injury fraud is driving up your car insurance premium
Most Recent
Comments
-
There are many ways to cut the expense from insurance . Moreover many are the myths of insurance that need to be keep in mind before starts with any vehicle insurance search. And most importantly these are followed by every sales person so always be aware. http://www.slideshare.net/christensenperformance/some-myths-and-misconceptions-about-car-insurance
REPORT This comment has been reported. -
I have a dashcam fitted. It is very discreet and up infront of the rear view mirror. You have to look very hard to see it, even if you know it is there. It records everything in HD from the moment the car is unlocked and stops some time after locking the car. I would dare bet that for the Swift cover discount to apply you would have to get one from a specific range and have it fitted professionally. All additional cost for a measly £33 (average) saving. My renewal this year is from £203 fully comp (24 years no claims and no endorsements), so no saving for me going to Swift Cover. The point about claims is also very true. About 6 years ago, my wife had 2 claims within about 2 months. Both times her car was legally parked and someone crashed into it. One on the road outside her parents house whilst she was visiting, and the other in a car park at Center Parcs. I renewed my insurance with her as a named driver (as usual) and with and without declaring these claims there was a difference of £20. How the insurance companies justify it I really do not know.
REPORT This comment has been reported. -
Note to enterprising car manufacturers : it took about 10 years for portable satnav devices to be developed into an option fitted into a car. I'm sure the technology exists right now to have a dashcam added to the options list of any new car. The first manufacturer to do that will have a marketable sales edge over its rivals. Maybe such an option already exists, but if it does it's not common knowledge. *Edit* After posting the above, I phoned my local Ford dealer to ask them if a dashcam was an option on any new Ford car. It's not, but they agreed that it would be a good idea to add such a device to their options list. I am of course referring to an 'inbuilt' camera, one that would be impossible for a thief to remove - possibly a development of the relatively mainstream rear-view parking cameras that have been around for years
REPORT This comment has been reported.
Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature
19 September 2015