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This camera could cut your car insurance costs
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 premiums, 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?
These 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 so-called ‘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.
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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. They tend to cost between £70 and £200 at major retailers, 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 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.
