Telematics car insurance policies cancelled for not driving enough and running out of phone battery
Drivers are being urged to check the small print on their policies after many unexpectedly found they were no longer covered.
Telematics software is used to track drivers, with the results directly impacting the price of their policy.
Careful drivers can often buy premiums much cheaper than normal quoted prices because they are seen as lower risk.
Telematics insurance is popular with young drivers who are seen as high risk due to a lack of experience and as such are quoted sky high amounts.
Indeed NimbleFins research shows the average cost of car insurance for young drivers is £1,752 when looking at an 18-year-old driver.
But customers have seen their policies cancelled for not driving for 28 days, missing a warning email, switching their phone's Bluetooth off, low phone battery and telematics technology not working properly, according to complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
In one case, seen by Thisismoney, insurer Ageas declined an insurance claim because it said the policy holder was driving without his telematics black box connected.
Some telematics involve connecting to an app while driving and this policy required the customer to connect to the app, which then connects to the telematics black box fitted to the car. The policy also says the driver's phone battery cannot drop below 10 percent and also have Bluetooth enabled.
But after a complaint to the ombudsman, the decision was overturned believing the issue was with the telematics device rather than the driver.
In another case, a driver's telematics box falsely recorded him speeding up to 115mph. But the driver only had a 1 litre engine with a top speed of 99mph and the telematics also recorded him making journeys of up to 37 miles at speeds below 10mph, signalling the telematics was faulty.
The FOS ordered insurance provider West Bay to cancel the driver's outstanding fees, pay a refund and £250 compensation, plus clear his record.
Both insurers said they were looking into what happened to see if services need to be improved.
In another successfully overturned case, a women have her policy cancelled for not driving, with the insurer presuming she wasn’t connecting the telematics when actually she was abroad and hadn’t taken her car with her. Warning emails had gone into her junk folder so she didn’t know there was a risk.
Erin Yurday, CEO and co-founder of NimbleFins, said: "If a policy is cancelled the problems don't just stop there. It could actually see your future car insurance policies cost even more because you are required to tell future insurers you had your policy cancelled.
"It's always really important to read all your documents when taking out a policy so you don't fall victim to this.
"Don't forget, it's illegal to drive without insurance."
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