Autosaint car insurance

Autosaint claims that opting to have a telematics box in the car monitoring your speed and driving style can lead to discounts of up to 40% off the eye-watering cost of insurance for novice drivers. 

Autosaint is an insurance broker that offers products from a panel of car insurers including Aviva, Ageas, Sabre and Markerstudy. 

Contact Uswitch: 0800 688 8557

When the telematics box is first installed, Autosaint gives drivers a starting score of 50. The top score is 100. Good driving leads to a higher score, while persistently recording a score of less than 30 can lead to the policy being cancelled. 

Autosaint says that last year more than 80% of its drivers managed to stay above 30 points. Unlike some other black box insurance companies there is no curfew imposed on policyholders but night driving is not good for the points tally.

The black box also does not like speeding and going 25 mph over the speed limit will mean an end to your Autosaint policy. Three instances of going 15 mph over the speed limit will have the same effect.

Another limiting factor on this type of car insurance is mileage. When you are taking out the policy you have to decide how many miles you are likely to drive in the next year. Misjudging this figure will be costly as you will have to pay Autosaint for extra miles. Continuing to drive without buying more miles will lead to the policy being cancelled.

There is also likely to be a cap on the number of miles you will be allowed to drive in a year, for example with policies through Ageas the limit is 10,000. Exceeding the limit will lead to cancellation of the policy.

And even though you have to have the box to have the insurance, you have to pay for it. It costs £185 for new policies and £170 if you already have a policy but get a new car and need a new box.

Those facing hefty insurance costs will benefit most from the discount that having a black box fitted to their car will bring. 

Parents are also likely to appreciate the option of being able to see their child’s driving history.

But Autosaint is likely to be the insurer only for a driver’s early days on the road as more experienced drivers are less likely to appreciate having their driving tracked all the time. 

Consideration should also be given to whether having a mileage limit will be impractical, for instance if the car is being used for commuting.

The trade-off between surveillance and cost will favour: