O2 Drive – O2’s latest product – for your car?
O2 Drive is the first Car Insurance product to be offered by a mobile network. “That’s a strange market to branch into” I hear you say, and I thought so to until I read up on it and it’s actually very clever and does involve your phone after all. You see O2 have really thought about what can make their product different and how their experience in customer care and the mobile phone and app industry can make them stand out above other motor insurance providers. They’ve designed a very clever app that allows you to manage O2 Drive straight from your smartphone.
Key features of this app are –
• Being able to check your driving scores – The app uses GPS to score your driving and give you feedback.
• Pick your perks – You will get exclusive perks from O2 for being an O2 Drive customer such as restaurant vouchers and car accessories. You will also be able to access the O2 Priority benefits with the O2 Drive app even if you’re not an O2 mobile customer.
• Take advantage of Car Assistant – This is my favourite bit and where their understanding of customer service really comes in – Car Assistant is designed to help you maintain and look after your car. If it needs a service, MOT or a problem looked at, call Car Assistant. O2 Car Assistant will then speak to a local garage on your behalf and agree a price for you. They will make sure the work to be carried out is necessary and guarantee parts and labour for 12 months.
• Standard help and support when you need it.
• View your insurance documents and update your details.
To me this all adds up to an expensive policy, so I got a quote from them and a quote via an insurance comparison site. O2 weren’t the cheapest, but they certainly weren’t the most expensive by a long mile. They were the 7th cheapest quote I got and at the prices that the more well know providers start showing at on the comparison sites list.
They also offer a “little black box” insurance that has become quite popular and helpful for younger drivers who struggle to get cheap car insurance. Their O2 Drive – Box on Board policies give an upfront discount and is aimed at drivers aged 17-24, although not exclusive to that age range. They fit your car with a small sensor or device. All journeys will be recorded automatically by the telematics box and you can view the data on the app. All the above app features also apply to these policies.
In a statement, David Plumb, digital director at O2, said: “Despite the rapid evolution of technology, the way we insure and service our cars has remained largely unchanged, with customers telling us that buying insurance is impersonal and confusing. We are on a mission to make customers’ lives easier through mobile, which is why we created O2 Drive.
O2 Drive, in partnership with Junction, BGL Group’s partnerships business, is a simple and easy to use car insurance product. It has a five star Defaqto rating, with the massive bonus of having O2 Customer service to back it up. Well done O2!
