What is Ticker car insurance and will it cut costs for new drivers?
Looking for cheap young or new driver car insurance? We’re here to help you navigate the ins and outs.
As a new driver, car insurance can be the biggest cost when it comes to driving (after getting your car).
If you’re a new or young driver and you’ve just started lessons, or you’re about to take the plunge with sorting your car insurance – we’re sure you already know about prohibitively high insurance premiums for new drivers.
But there are a few ways to save, including emerging insurance companies like Ticker that offer cheap insurance for young, new and/or inexperienced drivers.
In this guide:
- What is Ticker car insurance?
- How does Ticker insurance work?
- Ticker’s telematics devices
- The Ticker app
- Ticker insurance reviews
- Ticker customer service contact information
- How does Ticker use the data it collects?
- How does Ticker’s No Claims Discount (NCD) work?
What is Ticker car insurance?
Ticker is an insurance company that provides all sorts of insurance policies, including one for drivers who haven’t had a driving licence for more than 5 years. So, if you’re after young driver car insurance – Ticker might be worth a look.
Ticker provides what it calls ‘connected insurance’, otherwise known as telematics or black box insurance. Ticker says that it applies data science across pricing, underwriting, customer engagement and claims – which is what sets it apart from other insurers or insurtechs. For those that don’t know (we assume that’s most regular people), insurtech is technology and innovation that improves the efficiency of insurance so that costs are lowered for everyone.
How does Ticker insurance work?
Ticker’s car insurance policy for anyone who’s had their licence for less than 5 years works the same as most general telematics/black box policies – with a small device fitted into your car to track how you drive (speed, braking etc).
However, with Ticker, there’s no waiting around for a fitting appointment. Ticker will post you a device and you set it up yourself inside your car’s windscreen – which the company says takes very little time. And, unlike various other black box insurance policies for new and inexperienced drivers, there’s no curfew – so you won’t be restricted or penalised for driving late at night.
The telematics device will send data to the linked Ticker app on your phone to help you understand your driving habits and how to improve to become a better, safer driver. The less risk you present on the road, the lower your insurance premium should be – meaning you’ll be rewarded at renewal time with a lower price if you’re a good driver.
Ticker also provides cover for standard audio equipment and lost or stolen keys. You’ll also be covered if you’re hit by an uninsured driver.
Ticker’s telematics devices
There are two types of device available from Ticker insurance:
1. The plug-in Ticker device
The device you’ll receive from Ticket is a small box about as long as your index finger. You’ll get the device in the post with instructions included to plug it in to your car’s OBD (Onboard Diagnostics) port. This is generally near your car’s steering wheel. The device draws minimal power from your vehicle and sends your driving data directly to Ticker, which you can see in the app.
When you leave Ticker, you can unplug the device and send it back to be recycled.
2. The stick-on Ticker device
The stick-on option is a small, round box that fits in your hand. Much like a satnav or the like, it’ll stick to the inside of your windscreen. Download the Ticker app and pair it with your device. There’s no need to wait for a fitting appointment or an engineer’s expertise as it can be dealt with by you easily enough.
The Ticker app
When you pair your Ticker black box device to the account in their app, you’ll get weekly updates on your driving and the mileage you’re doing. You’ll also be able to find all your your insurance documents that are stored in the app and automatically updated if you make a change to your policy.
If you need help with anything, you can start a chat in the app or tap to call or email Ticker – and if you’re involved in an accident, you can hit the ‘Had a crash’ button on your app dashboard to speak to the 24/7 claims team. At renewal your quote will be in the app, too.
Ticker insurance reviews
Reviews for Ticker are generally favourable, with an average Trustpilot score of 4.4 out of 5 stars (rated Excellent) from over 5,400 reviews. 80% of the reviews at the time of writing this article are 5-star (13 Sept. 2023). A review from September 2023 highlights Ticker’s customer service and the company’s ease of handling increased mileage on an already existing insurance policy.
The review states:
“I’ve been with ticker for a while now, all employees provide great service, extremely polite and never fail to help you out, i just spoke to Rachael about increasing my declared mileage, she was really helpful, provided me with the right information and talked me through what i need to do, excellent service.”
Ticker customer service contact information
You can talk to the Ticker customer service team by chat from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday (except public holidays). Making changes to your policy by chat is quicker and cheaper than by phone, according to Ticker.
If you do want to reach out by phone, you can call from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday (except public holidays). To call Ticker about your quote or policy, the number to ring is 0200 500 5251. If your query is about payments, call 0333 3218 566.
If you need to talk about a claim or accident with Ticker, the claims team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Bear in mind that they can only discuss new or existing claims, though. The number to call about insurance claims is 0330 0533 727.
How does Ticker use the data it collects?
Ticker says that the data collected by the device in your car is used to firstly verify the insurance details you give and then to work out how you drive in order to calculate your renewal quote. It also uses this data to ask seriously risky drivers to leave.
Data collected from your device during a potential accident, for example, can also be used to prevent and reduce insurance fraud (a major issue in the industry), which will ultimately make insurance cheaper for everyone as their are fewer false insurance claims causing premiums to increase across the board.
Your data wont be shared unless it’s necessary by a court order from the police. Your data also won’t be used to report you for your driving, financially penalise you or increase your insurance price mid-policy
How does Ticker’s No Claims Discount (NCD) work?
NCD stands for No Claims Discount and is sometimes referred to as a No Claims Bonus (NCB). An NCD is the discount you’ll receive for having not claimed on your policy and works towards reducing the price of your insurance policy. The longer you go without making a claim as a policyholder, the bigger the discount you’ll see on your car insurance renewal.
When you take out a policy with Ticker, it may ask you to provide proof of your NCD by getting this from your previous insurer. If you don’t have a previous insurer then you won’t have any No Claims discount.
