Interview: Luke from ingenie explains black box car insurance

Insurance is a huge expense for most drivers, and especially those who haven’t been driving long. Using Liftshare doesn’t affect your insurance, and we’re supported by the ABI (that’s the Association of British Insurers). Liftsharing may save you money on fuel, but how can you save on insurance, without compromising your safety?

We caught up with Luke, Chief Marketing Officer at ingenie insurance, a company that works a bit differently from your traditional insurer…

So, who are ingenie, and what do you do?
ingenie is an insurance for young drivers. We help young drivers get more affordable insurance by assessing how they drive with a black box. It monitors things like their speed, acceleration, braking and cornering, and works out a discount based on this info. Customers can get up to 21% off their insurance, earning money back 3 times a year if they drive well.

Why does it suit young people more than those a bit older?
Young drivers are often faced with really high insurance premiums because stats say young drivers are more likely to crash – but we don’t think every young driver should be judged by what a small group do. Black box insurance proves young drivers can improve their driving skills, and lets them earn discounts for it.

Are the policies a bit more expensive than others to begin with, or is the saving a true saving based on other companies?
Actually, drivers joining us say they save an average of £500 upfront. Because we’ll learn how they’re driving, we can give them the benefit of the doubt that traditional insurance just doesn’t. And that’s before they even start earning their good driving discounts!

Do drivers have to pay for the black box? And how much info do you monitor from it?
Nope, it’s included in their premium, unless they change their car in the year. We use the box to analyse speed, acceleration, braking and cornering. We don’t have night-time curfews and we don’t report on where the car is being driven – we care about how you drive, not where. A really great thing about the box is that we can use its GPS signal as a theft tracker if the car is stolen – and those usually cost around £200, so it’s a real bonus.

If you drive well, your premium can go down. But if you’re not such a great driver… can it go up?
Your premium can also go up if you drive dangerously. However, the maximum it can go up by is 10% and 7 out of 10 ingenie drivers do earn a good driving discount. Our drivers track their feedback and discounts through the ingenie app, so it’s simple to see how you’re doing, and how you can work on your driving to earn your discount.

Does your insurance still cover the car when liftsharing?
We’re very happy to cover people sharing lifts – it’s a great way to save money and be a bit more eco-friendly. We only have restrictions on you making an actual profit from carrying passengers – but don’t squeeze too many people in either!

How do people go about joining?
Go check us out at ingenie.com and get a quote. If you’ve got any questions or need help, you can find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Please note Liftshare does not recommend any insurers over others, and your choice of insurer is made at your own risk.