Can dash cams reduce your insurance premium?

Dash cams are becoming more popular with drivers as they act as a silent witness on every journey, the captured footage is now accepted and used both by the police and UK courts to settle claims and protect drivers against any fraudulent claims against them. By having proof that you was the driver not at fault can save you from a premium increase and keep your car insurance affordable.

DIFFERENT DASH CAMS

There are many dash cams on the market, the basic dash cams starting from £30 to the higher spec dash cams for over £200 which includes features such as HD quality footage, built in GPS tracking and location settings, this is beneficial if you have to use your captured footage as the more evidence you have to give to insurers the better. A higher priced dash cam can record even when the car is off and parked (parking mode), if it detects motion the camera will fire up and start recording. This will capture thieves in action if they try to break into your car and hit and runners that damage your car when you are not around!

BENEFITS OF BEING A DASH CAM OWNER

Axa is one of the leading marketing names for UK car insurance and they are one of the insurers who offer the benefit of a dash cam discount. One of the terms and conditions of this discount is that the dashcams is ‘permanently fitted’ in your car, meaning every journey you drive has to be recorded. Due to the permanently fitted condition, mobile dash cam apps do not meet this requirement for the insurance discount. Another insurance company that has followed suit with Axa discount is Swiftcover, they offer the same discount of 10% and the same conditions which includes footage must be sent to the providers when requested, this includes any footage not just footage involving an incident.

Adrian Flux is another insurer who offers this benefit, they offer a discount for up to 15% off for drivers who are dash cam owners. They offer this discount for their customers as they believe having a dash cam footage speeds up the claims process and is vital evidence for a claim when there are no witnesses to settle the liability. However, the main condition of this benefit is the dash cam the driver uses has to be one of Adrian Flux’s models listed on their website (over 60 dash cams to choose from).

One of the UK’s largest insurer group Admiral Group also offer a chance of recieivng a discount if you have a dash cam. Admiral, Diamond and Elephant are all part of the Admiral Group and they all offer a discount, there is no fixed rate of what discount they offer but with their policy any dash cam is accepted including smartphone apps.

REDUCING INSURANCE PREMIUM

Although not all insurance companies offer a dashboard camera discount, they can contribute to reducing your insurance premium and protecting your no claims bonus. The footage the camera provides can help settle an insurance claim detecting who is at fault and can be valuable when involved in a collision, this can also protect your no claims bonus if identified as the non-fault party.

With dash cams becoming more popular with drivers, more insurance companies could be encouraged to start offering discounts to those drivers who have a dash camera fitted. When completing your car insurance it is worth mentioning to your insurers you are a dash cam owner as it shows them you are a sensible and confident driver who is willing to have your driving analysed, as having a dash cam doesn’t mean it just records others on the road.

Check out our 2021 Top 10 Dash Cams under £100 blog to see if there is a dash cam suited for you!