Frequently asked questions

Unlike some other black box insurers, there’s no threat of turning into a pumpkin with us. We’re more interested in how you drive than when you drive.

We do ask you to estimate how many miles you think you’ll drive over the year. If you think you’ll go over what you thought, you can use your policy account to see if you can add more mileage.

To make a change, go to My account and log in to your policy account. In the quick links section click Amend my cover and then select change of cover from the Description of your change drop down.

If you prefer, you can give us a call on 0330 303 0014 instead and we’ll look into adding more miles to your policy. The cost of your insurance may change because you’ll be on the road more, and remember there’s a £25 admin charge for making a change to your insurance over the phone and via your policy account.

Having a black box is part of ingenie’s insurance, so you need to keep your box as long as you’re with us.Speeding is one of the things we look at in your driving data so it does have an impact on your discounts. That said, we’re not a speed camera. We’ll only get in touch if we’re worried about your safety.

We would only consider cancelling your policy in extreme cases, and we would normally send you several warnings and try to contact you to help you improve your driving before this would happen. However, driving at unacceptably high speeds will result in the immediate cancellation of your insurance with us.Right now we only offer insurance if you’re the main driver but you can add a parent as a named driver. This is actually a much better idea, as it means you’ll be building up your own No Claims Discount right away.

Get some more information about No Claims Discounts.

You can rearrange your box fitting by giving us a ring on 0330 0241 086 or email [email protected]. You'll need to give us 24 business hours' notice or there's a £48 late charge.

We really don’t want to have to cancel your policy because of a bit of admin. If you didn’t have everything at the time, just call us on 0330 303 0014 as soon as the box has been fitted. You'll then need to send or upload the missing documents within 28 days.

You can upload your documents using your policy account. Go to My account and log in to your policy account. In the quick links section, click Upload documents and follow the steps.

Other ways to send your documents:

Email: [email protected]

Post: Prospect House, Gordon Banks Drive, Trentham Lakes North, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 4TW

Make sure you include your name and reference number (which is at the top of every letter we send to you) if you send us documents by post or email. You don't have to send the original documents - copies or photos are fine.

A black box is a smartphone-size device for collecting driving data. We fit it out of sight in your car, usually behind your dashboard, and it just sits there quietly with no effect on how your car works.

We use this box to build up a picture of your driving style and give you driving feedback on how you’re doing. The box gets fitted by an approved ingenie engineer and generally takes less than an hour.

For more on the box, check out telematics explained and fitting the box.It's fitted within the first 10 days of the policy starting, but don't worry: you're insured from day one. Fitting can take place Monday to Friday between 9am and 5.30pm, and on Saturdays between 9am and 12pm. We’re happy to come to your home, college, work or anywhere else that’s good for you in mainland Britain or Northern Ireland.The black box installed in your car records speed, acceleration, braking, cornering and mileage. We also collect data on your car's GPS location, which may help the police recover your car if it’s stolen.

Find out more about stolen car recovery.Having a black box is part of ingenie’s insurance, so you need to keep your box as long as you’re with us.Yup, we love family! If you need someone else to be there while the box is fitted, just make sure you leave all your documents and keys with them ready for the engineer.

If you have a question about your insurance, need to make a claim or want some help with your driving feedback, you can find all the phone numbers you need on our contact page, in your account and on the ingenie app.

You can also get us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram if you need to chat about anything. Unlike some other black box insurers, there’s no threat of turning into a pumpkin with us. We’re more interested in how you drive than when you drive.The driving feedback and discounts are based on how the car is being driven, not how an individual human behaves. Because we didn’t put a spy cam on the box, we can’t tell who’s driving.

Someone messing up your feedback? Get some advice.Right now we only offer insurance if you’re the main driver but you can add a parent as a named driver. This is actually a much better idea, as it means you’ll be building up your own No Claims Discount right away.

Get some more information about No Claims Discounts.If you're 25 years old, have the car owner’s permission and your Certificate of Insurance says you can, you’re cool to drive other cars on a third party fire and theft basis. If you’re not sure, just email us at [email protected] and we‘ll check for you. Yes, as long as your car is being fixed by one of our approved repairers.* You can also get Upgraded Replacement Car cover, which gives you a free replacement car for up to 21 days if you crash or your car is stolen.

Have a look at the full details.

* Subject to availabilityYes, and it’s a very good idea! It costs £27 for the whole year and covers you for things your insurance doesn’t - like money lost if you can’t work after a crash.

You get legal representation cover up to £100,000, to help you get back anything that wasn’t insured in an incident that wasn’t your fault.

Check the full legal protection details.That's fine, as long as the owner is your parent, husband/wife or civil partner and you have their permission. You will need to be the registered keeper of the vehicle and have your name on the V5C document (log book), though.

Find out more about a car’s V5C. If your car is stolen, you’ll need to get a Crime Reference Number from the police and then call us on 0330 303 0021. We’ll help the police with locating your car.

Find out more about stolen car recovery.

You can take out breakdown cover with ingenie for £64 a year. Our breakdown partners are Intana (for policies starting before 1st June 2018) and Call Assist (for policies starting after 1st June 2018) and they give you:

Home and roadside assistance
Vehicle recovery/onward transportation
European cover

Click here for full details of our UK and European breakdown cover. Yes, you are covered for up to 14 days of driving within Europe.

Check section H of your policy wording for the full details.‘Fraid not. We don’t insure cars that have been modified in any way.

Modifications are things like tinted windows, nonstandard alloys and/or wheels, body kits, performance enhancements, transfers and decals. If you’re not sure if your car’s been modified, get in touch with the manufacturer or look online for the car specs.

Get the full story on modifications.

Hey, things change. If you need to put a different car on your policy, you can use your policy account. To make a change, go to My account and log in to your policy account. In the quick links section, click Replace current car and then select change of vehicle from the Description of your change drop down. If you prefer, you can call us on 0330 303 0014 instead and we’ll go through changing your details with you.

Keep in mind that the car is part of how much your insurance costs, so you may need to pay some extra - or we might even give you money back. There’s a £25 admin charge for making changes to your insurance over the phone and via your policy account.

If you cancel your policy before the end of the first policy year, you’ll pay up to £175 to cover the cost of the black box and its fitting. You only earn a No Claims Discount for a full year of insurance, so cancelling does mean no NCD for that year.

You can see the list of possible charges here.

We’ll upload all of your documents into your policy account within 2 hours. Your Certificate of Motor Insurance will be added to your account once your black box has been fitted.

To see your documents, go to My account and log in to your policy account. You’ll see your policies in a list - click Manage my policy next to the policy you want to view. Your documents will be displayed at the top of the page.

We do ask you to estimate how many miles you think you’ll drive over the year. If you think you’ll go over what you thought, you can use your policy account to see if you can add more mileage.

To make a change, go to My account and log in to your policy account. In the quick links section click Amend my cover and then select change of cover from the Description of your change drop down.

Speeding is one of the things we look at in your driving data so it does have an impact on your discounts. That said, we’re not a speed camera. We’ll only get in touch if we’re worried about your safety.

We would only consider cancelling your policy in extreme cases, and we would normally send you several warnings and try to contact you to help you improve your driving before this would happen. However, driving at unacceptably high speeds will result in the immediate cancellation of your insurance with us.We only collect data related to your driving, so we can give you feedback. We promise:

We will not release your data to the police or to any civil authorities, unless we suspect fraud or attempted fraud, or if we are required to do so by law or a court order
We will not be using your driving data as a 'speed camera'
We will not use the data to decline your claim simply because you were driving above the legal speed limit
We will use the data to help us identify if another driver is making a false claim against you
We will use the data to help us identify if you are making a false claim

We use your black box to build up a picture of your driving style – your speed, acceleration, braking and cornering. We then review the price of your insurance 3 times a year at 3, 6 and 9 months. Reviews are based on how you’ve been driving over the previous 3 months. Drive well and you’ll pay less.Insurance companies usually reward customers by offering a No Claims Discount for each year you go without claiming. ingenie offers a No Claims Discount that's built into your quote, and gives you extra discounts if you drive well.

Yes, ingenie customers can earn an NCD by completing the full 12 months of insurance without making a claim. Your NCD is applied to your renewal quote but if you decide not to renew then we'll upload proof of your NCD to your policy account once your policy is finished.

Yes, you’re insured from your insurance start date, even if you haven’t had the box fitted. We’ll contact you the day after you buy your insurance to arrange your box fitting, which will need to happen within the first 10 days of your insurance starting.

Yay! Congratulations, you rock. Just let us know as soon as possible so we can update your details and get you on the road. To do this, go to My account and log in to your policy account. In the quick links section click Amend my details and then select Change of drivers from the Description of your change drop down.

If you prefer, you can give us a quick call on 0330 303 0014 instead - then you can get straight in the car, fully insured and ready to go.

FYI: it’s very likely your insurance will go up when you change from a provisional to a full driving licence. This is because you’ll be driving by yourself for the first time and will probably be doing a lot more miles than when you were a learner driver, increasing your risk of having a crash.

When you leave ingenie, the black box in your car becomes your property. You don’t need to have it taken out because we deactivate it remotely so it stops collecting data. If you’d like the box to be removed by one of our engineers, it costs £80 and you just need to call our box fitting team on 0330 024 1086.

Find out more about our charges.

We’ll upload your renewal quote to your policy account about 17 days before your insurance is due to end. Lots of things go into calculating this quote - how you’ve driven, your No Claims Discount and whether you went over your mileage are just a few.

ingenie insurance is for a whole year and we don’t offer breaks or pauses at the moment.If you’d like to add someone to your insurance for temporary cover, give us a call on 0330 303 0014 and we’ll look into it for you.If you pay in monthly instalments, we usually renew your insurance automatically. If you don’t want to renew, please call our customer service team on 0330 303 0014 or email [email protected]. If you paid in full when you took out your insurance, we don’t automatically renew so you don’t have to do anything.

With ingenie, you can have a maximum of 3 named drivers on your insurance policy. If you want to add a named driver, go to My account and log in to your policy account. In the quick links section click Add drivers and then select Change of drivers from the Description of your change drop down.

If you prefer, you can call us on 0330 303 0014 instead and we’ll go through the change with you.

As long as you’re 25 or under, we can insure you as a new customer. If you turn 26 while you’re insured, that’s fine - everything just carries on. If you’d like to stay with us even after you turn 26, we’ll offer you a renewal quote if we can because we’d love to keep you!

Log in to your policy account and go to Manage my policy. Select Change car details or Replace current car, then put in the details of the new car. Hit Show price and this will let you know if there's any change to the cost of your insurance.

Log in to your policy account and go to Change my details. Once you’re there, hit the Change contact details button, then select This is not the correct address. You can then can put in the new address and see any change to the cost of your insurance.

If you haven't set up your policy account you can click here to get going. You'll need your policy number to set it up, which you can find on any of your ingenie documents or ni the ingenie app.

Scanned documents can be really big if they've been scanned in high quality. If they're stored as an image file (like a JPEG or a GIF), you can resize the image using any image editing software.

If you've just scanned in a document and the file's too big to upload, try lowering the dpi (dots per inch) value on your scanner and rescan the document.

If you’ve been asked for any documents, you can upload them securely in your policy account. The file types you can upload are PDF, JPEG, JPG, PNG, GIF, and JPE up to 3MB in size.

Any image editing software can save your file as a JPG, GIF, or PNG. Most Microsoft Windows operating systems come with Microsoft Paint but you can download other free software.

Saving a file as a PDF:

Your scanner will usually come with a PDF creation tool. Scan the image in and use the software to create a PDF file.

If you have a copy of Microsoft Office 2010, you can create a PDF file from Microsoft Word by importing your scanned image into a blank document, then saving the file as a PDF.

If you use any free software to convert to PDF, look out for a branded watermark. Any PDFs you upload that have a watermark on them will be rejected.

If you'd like a new quote (if you want to change your car or address, for example), you can get one in your policy account.

Yep - just email us at [email protected] or call us on 0330 303 0014. We're here Monday to Saturday, 8am to 8pm.

You can use your policy account to add a named driver, change your car, update your mileage and edit your personal details.

To make a change, set up or log in to your policy account. You’ll see your policies in a list - click Manage my policy next to the policy you want to change. Find the section you need (like Drivers to add a driver to your policy) and make your change.

Not everything can be changed through your policy account so if you can’t find what you need, call 0330 303 0014 to talk to us.

Your ingenie policy account lets you:

See your policy details
Read and download your policy documents
Make changes to your policy - including getting a quote to change your car
Upload copies of any documents we need from you

Set up or log in to your policy account. You'll see your policies in a list - click Manage my policy next to the policy you want to view.

FYI: your policy account is only for policy details - your driving feedback account is where you'll find your messages and discounts.

Go to My account and log in to your policy account. Once you're in, click Manage login details. You'll be able to set up a new password there.

Your premium is reviewed 3 times a year at 3, 6 and 9 months. Your last 3 months of driving is used to help us work out your renewal price. We work out this price from your driving data, plus any No Claims Discount you’ve earned. Things like how many miles you drove in the previous year and any details that have changed will also go into the calculation.The max you can earn off your insurance is 21% of your original price and you could pay up to 10% extra if you drive poorly. You'll find the exact amounts on the score section of your ingenie app or My account area. You can also see how much you can save over the whole year in your policy documents.Every 10 days, we’ll update your driving score and tell you what discount or increase you’re on track for at your next price review. If you’re on track for a discount, keep working on your feedback because you could push it up even higher! If you’re on track for no discount or an increase in price, try to keep up with your feedback messages as these will show you the areas you can improve. You can also check out our How to improve section, which you’ll find on the app and My account area. There’s also loads of advice in the Young Driver’s Guide.The cost of repairing or replacing your car is only one of the factors that goes into calculating your insurance price. Repairs to other cars or property you damage are also taken into consideration but that’s not what makes crashes so costly.

The true cost of a crash is when people are hurt. Care for someone who’s seriously injured can cost millions - that’s what we have insurance for. It protects us and anyone we hurt against the massive long-term cost.

More personal injury claims, particularly for whiplash, have also made insurance more expensive, which is why your insurance may cost more than your car. The car itself is the least of it!Insurers look at loads of things to work out your insurance price, including your age, job, where you live and your car. They also look at the cost of repair, how much other people with your details crash and how much compensation for injuries and damage cost. ingenie calso used the black box to build up a picture of your driving style, so we can review your the cost of your insurance times a year based on your driving.Nope, there‘s no additional cost as it’s part of what you pay for your insurance. However, a charge may apply if you change your car or cancel your policy.Yes, if you don’t want to pay for your insurance upfront, you can choose monthly instalments. You’ll normally be asked to pay a 20% deposit followed by 10 monthly payments. This way of paying is kind of like a loan that you pay back each month, so there’s an APR (a bit like interest) on it.The price of your insurance is reviewed 3 times a year based on how you’ve been driving. If you drive well, you’ll get a discount on your insurance - up to 21% off! If you drive poorly, the price of your insurance can go up by 10%. You can see the maximum amount your insurance price can change on your quote.We use the data from the black box in your car to build up a picture of your driving style. We then review the price of your insurance 3 times a year based on how you’ve been driving if you drive well then the cost of your insurance will come down by up to 21%.We have to refund money to the account you used to pay for your insurance. If the account closes, we’ll need confirmation from the bank. Once we have this we’ll send you a cheque.

Yep, we’ll send your discount by bank transfer to the account you used to pay for your insurance.The quote we give you is based on things like your age, your car, how long you’ve been driving and where you live. We then work out discounts based on how you drive - if you drive well, you’ll earn money off your starting price.If we’re worried that you’re driving dangerously or you get more than 1 red (dangerous) message in the same area of your driving (like speed or braking), we may get in touch to have a chat about how to improve. This would include tips on how to improve your driving, helping you work towards earning good driving discounts.

Getting red (dangerous) messages means you’re likely to pay more for your insurance, and if you get 3 of them in a quarter for the same driving category, you’ll lose 30 points from your driving score. This 30 point penalty will stay in place until after your next 3-month price review.

If you get 6 red (dangerous) messages for speed, this will mean a black (highly dangerous) message.

Your score will be set to zero for the rest of the quarter but you'll start the next quarter with a clean slate
You'll get the highest increase you can for that quarter
Your policy will be put on review and unless we see a significant improvement in your driving, your insurance will be cancelled
If you receive a second highly dangerous message at any time over the year, your insurance will be cancelled

We measure acceleration (g-force) using the accelerometer in the box. Acceleration means the rate at which speed changes. So, if your speed increases rapidly over a short period of time, it will mean more acceleration than if you speed up gradually.

Braking also uses your box’s accelerometer data and is basically the opposite of acceleration: the rate at which your car slows down.

Cornering looks at the rate at which your car turns. The 2 main factors that determine the g-force generated when cornering are the angle of the corner and the speed at which your car is travelling. The tighter the corner, the slower you should approach and travel around the bend.

We calculate your speed using the GPS signal transmitted from your box - it’s the rate at which you move from one point to another. That speed is then compared to our database of speed limits across the country. Doing speeds that could get you a speeding ticket and points will affect your driving score.

If you get black (Highly Dangerous) message:

Your score will be set to zero for the rest of the quarter but you'll start the next quarter with a clean slate
You'll get the highest increase you can for that quarter
Your policy will be put on review and unless we see a significant improvement in your driving, your insurance will be cancelled
If you receive a second highly dangerous message at any time over the year, your insurance will be cancelled

Warning: driving at unacceptably high speeds or creating an extremely high number of harsh braking or harsh cornering events may lead us to cancel your insurance with us immediately ingenie is about creating a community of better, safer drivers. We’re trying to make insurance more affordable for the people it costs the most by proving young drivers can be skilful drivers - so we can’t allow unacceptably dangerous speeds.

If we do see these kinds of seriously reckless speeds, we’ll try to contact you by phone to tell you we’ll be cancelling your insurance, and follow up with a letter confirming the cancellation.You’ll get driving feedback messages about every 10 days, as long as you’ve driven at least 40 miles in that time. If you haven’t had any yet, it might be that you haven’t driven enough miles for us to give you a good idea of how you’re doing.

If it’s been more than 10 days and you’ve definitely driven more than 40 miles, send us an email to [email protected] and we will look into it for you.Take a look at your driving messages on a regular basis as these will highlight the areas you can improve in. You’ll also find a How to improve section on our app and in the My account area, which covers each of the 4 key areas of your driving - speed, acceleration, braking and cornering.

If we’re worried that you’re driving dangerously or you get more than 1 red (dangerous) message in the same area of your driving (like speed or braking), we may get in touch to have a chat about how to improve. This would include tips on how to improve your driving, helping you work towards earning good driving discounts.We look at the trends in your driving to see where you’re doing well in your speed, acceleration, braking and cornering, and where you could improve. We then work out a score out of 100 (100 being the best) so you know how it’s going at a glance. If you’ve got room for improvement, take a look at the How to improve section on the app or in your My account area.Once your black box is fitted, you’ll get your first set of feedback messages about 10 days later, as long as you’ve driven at least 40 miles. If it’s been more than 10 days and you’ve definitely driven more than 40 miles, send us an email to [email protected] and we will look into it for you.Your messages are based on how you’ve been driving in the last 10 days (or since your last set of feedback) and shows you the areas you’re driving well in and where you can improve.

This means that your latest feedback messages are not directly linked to your driving score. You’ll need to scroll back through all the feedback messages you’ve had since the start of the review period to see how your driving has affected your score.Every 10 days, we’ll give you an overall driving score out of 100 for your speed, accelerating, braking and cornering. To help you improve your score, you’ll also get driving messages for each of the 4 key areas with some helpful tips. To find out more, check out our How ingenie works page.Yes, and we would love that because drivers who share their feedback with a parent are 10% less likely to have a crash. Pretty big deal.

It’s easy to share your feedback - just log in to your My account area and go to the Share your feedback section. We’ll send an email invite to view your driving feedback.You’ll get the link to set up your driving feedback account in the 48 hours after you’ve had your box fitted. We’ll send this to the email address you set up your insurance with, so make sure you can get into that email account. You’ll get your first set of driving feedback messages about 10 days after your box fitting - as long as you’ve driven 40 miles.So we have enough driving data to get a good idea of your driving style, we wait until your second set of feedback messages to give you a driving score and the discount you’re on track for.Not a problem - happens all the time. Send us an email to [email protected] with the garage's address and the date and time they had your car. We’ll check this against your driving data and update your feedback if necessary. Don’t worry - we’ll make sure your driving score and discounts aren’t affected by your mechanic’s over-enthusiastic checks.

Call us as soon as you can on 0330 303 0021 - just make sure everyone’s safe first. Our claims team are ready to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you look in the ingenie app you’ll find a crash guide to help you collect all the information you need from the other drivers and witnesses. If you need your windscreen repaired or replaced, give our windscreen claims team a call on 0330 303 0024.

If you use one of our approved repair companies, the excess (the amount you pay towards a claim) is £20 to repair and £75 to replace.If you need to speak to someone about a claim, please give our claims team a call on 0330 303 0021. We’re open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.