Young driver car insurance FAQs

Frequently asked SMART WHEELS car insurance questions

When you first log in to the dashboard or app you'll be prompted to upload your documents. After this you can upload documents using the documents page in your dashboard. Simply click on the relevant document in the app or dashboard and upload a clear picture. Using the app you can upload a picture directly from your mobile phone camera. Please upload or send us the following within the first 14 days of your policy to avoid cancellation.

Proof of your NCD (if you declared any when taking out your policy). This must be in the policy holder's name, less than two years old and not currently in use on another car insurance policy.
A clear copy of the front and back of the photo card driving licence for any drivers aged 25 and under (if you have sent your licence off, please send in your driving test pass certificate instead).
The DVLA information for any drivers aged 25 and under. Here's how you can get this:
- Have your licence number, National Insurance number and postcode to hand
- Go to www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence, select start now and enter your details
- Select share your licence information on the top tab and click 'get a code'
- Choose 'print or save a licence summary' to download the information we need, take a screenshot or save this as a PDF to upload/send to us.

We know that everyday life means that you may need to drive at unsociable times, so we don't impose a set curfew. However, we do give you feedback about whether you're driving at safe times in your usage score. We know it's more dangerous to drive at certain times of day such as early morning or during the night and whilst the odd journey during these hours won't affect your usage score, doing lots of journeys at these times will.

Your usage score also gives you feedback based on the length of journeys and number of journeys driven within 24 hours. You'll find this feedback, along with tips on how to improve your score, in the app and dashboard.

If your car isn’t parked 50% of the time at the overnight location you declared when you took your car insurance policy out with us, please contact us to amend your policy by filling in the online form on the help and support page.

Failure to do so may result in cancellation. A change of overnight postcode may result in a refund, an additional premium, or if the overnight location postcode is ineligible then your policy may be cancelled.

We hope not to have to cancel your policy but you should be aware that there are a number of reasons why this could happen. They include, but are not limited to:

Failure to have the telematics box installed within 14 days of your policy purchase date
Failure to send in all required document within 14 days of your policy purchase date
Exceeding your mileage allowance (remember you can top up at any time)
Repeated or excessive speeding
Not parking at your declared overnight location postcode

For further information about the cancellation of your policy, please read the policy wording thoroughly.

You can track the miles you have driven, and your remaining mileage, in your app or dashboard. You'll also find an estimate of how many miles you are likely to drive in your policy year. Don't worry if you run out of miles, you can top up at any time.

The cost of top up miles is based on your driving score – the safer you drive, the cheaper your miles will be. However, remember to estimate your miles as accurately as you can from the start as topping up can be a more expensive option.

You must tell us if any of the information shown on your statement of fact changes, for example:

Changes to your personal details such as name or address changes
Any claims, convictions, or points on your licence that you didn’t have when you bought the policy
Changes to your car, such as a new car, or any modifications you make to it
Any changes to your long-term health which may affect your driving

If you wish to cancel your policy at any time or make any other changes, please contact us.

Depending on your situation and what you need from your insurance, there may be ways we can help you manage your payments to make sure you don’t end up uninsured.

How to get in touch

To talk to us about the options that might be available to you, you can view our phone numbers and opening hours or join a live chat with one of our team by visiting our contact us page.

Please don’t cancel your payments without speaking to us first as we may be able to help.

If you’d like some free, independent advice

There are a number of places that offer free independent advice. For example, the National Debtline offers free and impartial debt advice for people living in England, Wales or Scotland. These independent organisations offer tools and resources to support you if you are in financial difficulty. These include online budget planners, affordability calculators and information on support such as the Breathing Space scheme, which gives a 60 day period where debt cannot be pursued. This scheme can be used once in a 12 month period.

A black box is a telematics device that is fitted to your car somewhere out of sight and is a little larger than a smartphone. Your black box will be professionally fitted to your car once you've purchased your MORE THAN SMART WHEELS policy. Once fitted it records information about your driving style; such as speed, smoothness (acceleration, braking, and cornering), and usage (the time of day you drive, the length of your journey, and the number of journeys completed in a day). The information generates a driving score, which you'll be able to view by logging in to your app or online dashboard. Our best drivers are those that check their scores regularly. We recommend checking it at least twice a week. The better your driving score is, the bigger the renewal discount you can earn.

Your black box measures bits of your driving that we know are dangerous such as speed, how sharply you accelerate, brake and corner, and when you drive (the time of day, the length of journeys and how often in 24 hours). Our experts turn this data into a driving score based on what we know leads to accidents.

We look at how often, or not, these things happen and calculate your feedback based on that. This means your feedback shows how you drive most of the time; occasional mishaps don't hurt too much, but repeatedly driving dangerously will hurt your score.

RS Connect fit the boxes for us - they'll send you a text message after you've purchased your policy with a link to an online booking service so that you can choose a day which is suitable for you. It takes no longer than an hour to fit your black box and we can fit the box at a place convenient for you whether that is at your home, work, or place of study. Please note that we will ask for someone over 18 years of age to be present to sign for the pre- and post-checks conducted by the black box engineer. You don't need to be present whilst the engineer is installing the black box - they'll contact you when the fit is complete so the post-checks can be conducted.

Read our black box insurance guide and watch our videos, to find out more about how black box insurance works.

You get a score that reflects how you've driven in the last seven days, in the last three months, and in your policy year to date (this determines your renewal discount). You can check your scores using your app or dashboard. Our best drivers are those who check their scores often, so aim for twice a week!

High scores mean you're driving well, and you can earn a bigger renewal discount just for driving safely. Remind anyone who drives your car that they need to drive safely as the box will be recording their driving style too.

We’ve made this change because we want to make sure that all of our good drivers are seeing the benefits of SMART WHEELS and not missing out, and we noticed that a large majority of our customers weren’t making the most of their quarterly rewards. However, although you’ll no longer receive a quarterly bonus, you’ll still be rewarded with a discount off your renewal for safe driving – the higher your score, the bigger your discount.

If applicable to your policy, you’ll receive quarterly bonus rewards. Your bonus rewards are calculated based on your score at the end of each quarter; the higher your driving score, the bigger reward you'll earn. Your rewards will be loaded onto a pre-paid Mastercard® which is sent to your home address. This usually takes about 28 days from your quarter ending. Once activated, you’ll be able to use your card to spend your rewards at most places that display the Mastercard sign. Read these terms and conditions to understand how to activate your card.