Catlin backs insurethebox

A Catlin-backed motor insurance for new-qualified drivers called insurethebox is launching today charging per mile and giving free extra miles for careful driving.

The technology measures fast acceleration and sharp braking and takes into account the speed on different categories of roads. Good drivers get extra miles for free. And sudden stops trigger an alarm. The insurer then calls the driver and, if it gets no answer, phones the emergency services.

Influence good behaviour

Insurethebox reckons it is the first in the world to do this and is targeting young, newly-qualified motorists and their parents. It says it aims to influence behaviour by giving good drivers incentives. The safest drivers can get as many as 100 free miles a month.

The box also alerts the insurethebox service centre whenever there has been an incident recording a g-force of 2.5 or more, indicating that it might be an accident. The insurethebox service centre will then contact the customer and organise help if needed.

Where the box registers a g-force of 8 or more it reckons serious injury is likely. If the customer cannot be contacted, insurethebox will call the emergency services and give the precise location.

Claims costs reductions

This technology will help to cut out lawyers and claims firms. If a driver can be contacted immediately and pass on any third-party claimants’ details – or even hand over their own mobile to the third-party - Catlin should be able to get in touch instantly and reduce claims costs.

At the heart of its system is a small ‘ClearBox’. Insurerthebox installs it in the young driver’s car and it monitors exactly when and where the car goes and how it is driven.

Customers can access their own password-protected portal on the insurethebox website to see how well they are driving compared to their peer group. The idea is they modify their driving to save money.

Drivers pay for a fixed number of miles, typically 6,000. They then buy additional miles automatically through credit cards or bank accounts or top-up in a similar way to mobile phones.

Teenage risks

Insurethebox CEO Mike Brockman said: “A seventeen year old man is 17 times the insurance risk of a 45-year-old, since they have more accidents with a significantly higher cost of claims.

“If we can just make a 17 year old lad behave like an 18-year-old then we are reducing the risk of an accident by 40%.”

Insurethebox has its own website selling direct and is on moneysupermarket.com, where it reckons it will show up cheapest for its target drivers.