LONDON, June 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Helping young drivers save money and drive more safely
With nearly half (39%) of young drivers claiming to have been involved in a collision since they started driving, Tesco Bank has today launched Tesco Bank Box Insurance, a new product that tracks driving behaviour on a daily basis to encourage responsible driving, and help bring down the cost of motoring.
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Two in three parents (64%) surveyed worry about their children's safety on the roads, and nearly one in four (22%) fear their child drives recklessly. 15% said their child learning to drive was more stressful than when they leave home, start university, or go on holiday with their friends.
To provide peace of mind, this new product includes an accident alert service which automatically contacts a call centre with trained staff, whenever a significant impact is recorded.
Two thirds (66%) of the young drivers we spoke to say regular feedback on their driving ability would encourage them to drive more safely. Tesco Bank Box Insurance allows policy holders to monitor their performance behind the wheel and provides them with feedback to help them improve their driving.
A smart little box is installed out of sight in the car, by a trained fitter, and tracks performance against six factors; speed; braking; time of day; distance; type of road and breaks taken. The information gained is available to policy holders via their own personal web-portal and is also used to determine the renewal premium. Tesco Bank Box Insurance is a mileage-based policy, which rewards responsible driving behaviour with bonus miles. This can bring down the cost of an annual premium over time: a positive benefit to the almost 90% of young drivers who consider their car insurance to be too expensive.
Tesco Bank Box Insurance aims to provide a competitive premium from the outset. To further help Tesco customers, a discount is available to Clubcard holders.
Karl Bedlow, Managing Director, Insurance at Tesco Bank said: "Sitting behind the wheel of a car in those first few years of driving is exciting but also daunting and we want to help young drivers, and their parents, make it as safe as possible. The launch of Tesco Bank Box Insurance will not only help increase the safety of our younger policy holders, but also provide the same value and quality which they and their families have come to expect from Tesco Bank insurance."
The use of telematics technology to encourage greater safety amongst younger drivers has also been advocated by road safety experts. Director of the Road Safety Foundation, Dr Joanne Marden says: "Feedback about the driver's interaction with the road is hugely valuable in overall road safety. This is never more important than among young drivers, who are consistently over-represented in fatal and serious crashes. Telematics technology can play a vital role in helping to reduce such incidents and in helping young people to become safer behind the wheel."
Richard Coteau, spokesperson from road safety charity, Brake, said: "Young drivers are at a particularly high risk of being in a serious crash, especially in their first few years of driving, so we must do all we can to help them stay safe. Telematics technology, which allows policyholders to monitor and get feedback on their driving, can have a positive impact on safety at the wheel, to help protect newly qualified drivers and other road users around them."
Watch or download our video on Tesco Bank Box Insurance.
Guaranteed Clubcard discount does not apply to insurance add-on products.
Tesco Bank Box Insurance is arranged and administered by Insure The Box Limited and is underwritten by Catlin Insurance Company (UK) Ltd. and Great Lakes Reinsurance (UK) plc.
Research was conducted by Vision Critical between 31.05.13 - 03.06.13 against a randomly selected sample of 504 young drivers (aged 18-25) and 1,003 parents who have children who learnt to drive. Both samples were of GB residents.
Road traffic statistics taken from government sources.
Scotland: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/06/17140155/9#t11
UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-annual-report-2011
About Tesco Bank
Our aim is to be a financial services provider of choice for Tesco customers by giving them good service, great value and by rewarding their loyalty for shopping at Tesco.
Tesco Bank offers a popular range of simple personal banking products, principally credit cards, personal loans, savings and general insurance, including car, home, pet and travel.
Last year we gave more than £100 million in Clubcard points to Tesco customers and give a Clubcard discount on some of our insurance premiums to Tesco Clubcard holders (discount does not apply to some add-on insurance products and may be subject to a minimum premium).
We opened for business in 1997 and since 2008 have been wholly owned by Tesco PLC. We now have approximately 4,000 staff based in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle. Our customers hold 6.6 million accounts and policies with us.
Tesco Bank products and services are available online at tescobank.com and by telephone from our UK-based service centres which, like Tesco stores, are open 7 days a week.
We aim to be a valued part of the communities we operate in.
About Brake
Brake is an independent road safety charity. Brake exists to stop the five deaths and 66 serious injuries that happen on UK roads every day and to care for families bereaved and seriously injured in road crashes. Brake runs awareness-raising campaigns, community education programmes, events such as Road Safety Week (18-24 November 2013), and a support division caring for road crash victims through a helpline and other services.
About Road Safety Foundation
The Road Safety Foundation is a UK charity advocating road casualty reduction through simultaneous action on all three components of the safe road system: roads, vehicles and behaviour. Several of its published reports have provided the basis of new legislation or government policy. For more information visit: http://www.roadsafetyfoundation.org.
For media enquiries please contact:
Polly Tolley, Tesco Bank, polly.tolley@tescobank.com, +44(0)131-479-1438.
Jordan Bickerton, Fishburn Hedges, tescobank@fishburn-hedges.co.uk, +44(0)20-7839-4321.
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