How it works

In a nutshell

Find out how it works by watching our short video.

As well as all the standard factors used to calculate the cost of car insurance, we take into account driving behaviour. We believe safe driving means fewer accidents and lower claim costs. Therefore, we think safe drivers should pay less than high risk drivers.

We assume you’re a reasonably safe driver to begin with, then we adjust your premium after 3, 6 and 9 months taking into account your driving behaviour and that of your named drivers. You use our app on your smartphone to monitor your driving. From this we work out how safe a driver you are.

We’re often asked the following questions:

1. Could my premium go up as well as go down?

Yes. Your premium could go up, go down or stay the same. This depends on your driving score. 55% of our customers*, after the initial four-week period, have been advised of a forecast drop in premium averaging £35, 30% forecast no change and 15% a forecast increase in premium averaging £53.

^{* Based on all customers who purchased Drivology’s car insurance with cover starting between 12/3/2014 and 25/10/2014 and then, after 4 weeks of being on cover, were issued a price adjustment forecast taking into account their Driving Score (whether or not they’ve since cancelled).​}

2. Can I cancel my policy and what’s the charge?

You can cancel your policy at any time. There’s no cancellation charge for doing this and, subject to a few conditions, we’ll give you a pro-rata refund. See our Terms of Business.

3. How do we know you’re using the app to monitor your driving?

We check various things. For example, how often the app is used to monitor driving, how many miles are monitored (particularly in respect of the estimated annual mileage given when buying the policy), the location the app is activated/deactivated compared with where you told us you keep your car. We will periodically ask for photos of your mileage and check this against the number of miles monitored by the app.

Here’s how it works step-by-step…

1. Download the app

You can download and install our free app onto your smartphone by clicking on the Google Play or Apple App Store icons to the right. We support iPhone 4 / 5 and Android phones. We don’t support other types of smartphone like Windows or Blackberry.

Our app uses the GPS on your smartphone to record how, when and where you drive. The app uploads this information to us and we analyse this to work out how safe a driver we think you are. We respect your privacy and treat your personal information with care – check out our Privacy Policy.

When you take out a policy with Drivology you need to use the app to upload photo evidence – check out How to upload your photos (please note there is a £50 fee for failure to provide valid photo evidence and your policy will be cancelled if you do not provide this).

Just like taking a car for a test drive, you can Try our app before taking out a policy with us.

2. Drive and monitor

You, and any named drivers on your policy, monitor each journey you drive in the car you’ve insured. We analyse each journey and give you feedback on how you’ve driven – see these Journey info and Journey feedback examples.

We also calculate your driving score. This is our view of how safe a driver we think you are. This ranges from 0-100 and is normally updated twice a day. The higher your score the safer we think your driving is. A score of 70 or more is what we’re looking for. Over 80 is outstanding and over 90 is exceptional.

When calculating your driving score, we take into account the speed you drive, acceleration, braking, how consistent a driver you are, the types of roads you use, the times you drive and how familiar you are with the roads you use. By clicking your driving score on the app you can see the various driving behaviours we take into account and get a summary of your overall driving – as well as some pointers on how to improve – see this Your driving score app screenshot example.

3. Save (if you’re a good driver)

After 4 weeks of your car insurance cover starting we’ll email you a Driving Statement which gives you an estimate of how your car insurance premium might change at the end of your first 3 months taking into account the monitored driving behaviour. We’ll email you an updated Driving Statement again after a further 3 weeks. See this Driving Statement example.

3 weeks before the end of your first 3 months, we’ll email you a Quarterly Statement. This lets you know exactly how your car insurance premium will change. Any change in premium will be applied at the end of your first 3 months. Here are a couple of examples of how your premium could vary (all prices shown include IPT at the applicable rate):

Example 1 - Your Drivology car insurance quote was £400. You paid this in full by credit card. After 3 months, you’ve effectively used £100 for the time you’ve been insured with us. You’re a very safe driver and your driving score is way over 70. After taking into account your driving score and applying it to the £300 for the remaining time left on cover, we calculate you should be paying £260 for this time. £40 will be credited to your credit card on or around the end of your first 3 months.

Example 2 – Your Drivology car insurance quote was £400. You paid 20% deposit up-front and you’re paying the rest by 11 direct debit instalments of £32.58 which includes interest. After 3 months, you’ve effectively used £100 for the time you’ve been insured with us. You’re not such a safe driver and your driving score is way below 70. After taking into account your driving score and applying it to the £300 for the remaining time left on cover, we calculate you should be paying £340 for this time. An additional £40 will be spread across your remaining direct debit instalments from the end of your first 3 months and interest applied accordingly. You’ve paid £80 deposit and made 2 direct debit instalments, your remaining 9 direct debit instalments would go up to £37.42 each.

If the change in premium calculates to less than £10 (including IPT at the applicable rate), we do not apply it. This is to make sure we’re not making lots of relatively small additional charges or refunds.

You can cancel at any time. We don’t charge an administration fee if you cancel your policy. See our Terms of Business.

4. Keep saving (if you’re a good driver)

You, and any named drivers on your policy, need to continue to monitor each journey you drive in the car you’ve insured. We continue to calculate your driving score.

For each 3 month period you’re insured with us, we continue to send two Driving Statements and a Quarterly Statement (as above) up until renewal.

3 weeks before the end of your annual cover, we’ll email you your renewal invite. Your renewal premium will take into account driving behaviour. Your policy will auto-renew unless you tell us not to.

How does it work?

Download our app

Download our free app onto your smartphone and use it to upload your photo evidence

Drive and monitor

Use our app to monitor your driving and get feedback after each journey

Save (if you're a good driver)

After 3 months your premium will be recalculated taking into account how you drive (so it could go up or down)

Keep saving (if you're a good driver)

Keep monitoring and every 3 months your premium will be recalculated (so it could go up or down)