New Internet Insurance Pack Lets Parents Monitor Children's Driving

The UK’s newly registered young drivers (and young drivers in general) have a habit of testing their limits and their car’s performance shortly after getting their license. However, there might be a spy in the cab that could help parents keep their children’s bad driving in check, while also cutting their insurance bills at the same time.

At the end of this month, a new internet insurance package which lets parents monitor a number of these bad behaviors will be launched. Created by Marmalade, which sells and leases small cars to newly-qualified drivers, it is hoped the new system will offer particularly competitive insurance rates in return for motorists having a "black box" fitted to their cars.

"It's not big brother; we're not just monitoring people, we are encouraging them to drive more safely," said Marmalade managing director, Crispin Moger.

The telematic figures from an onboard black box are feed onto a website, recording details of every journey made, allowing both insured and their parents to monitor how fast, or how carefully, the car is being driven. By accessing a web page it will be possible for customers to examine obvious - factors such as how harshly the car is being braked, how fast it accelerates and how fast it corners.

Drivers who go into the ‘red’ zone will first get a warning, after which a second ‘offense’ will result in a £400 increase in the cost of insurance.

As UK drivers aged 17-25 face huge motor insurance premiums between £3,000 to £8,000, Marmalade thinks it has the answer, offering a competitive quote of around £2,000 on average. As a result, about 1,5000 drivers have already signed up.