Dashboard cameras are becoming increasingly common these days, but did you know, rather than just being the latest toy for gadget fans, they can actually help save their users money? Here’s how it works.
Save money on your car insurance
A dashboard camera can reduce your car insurance premium. Why would insurance companies do this? Well, it’s pretty obvious if you think about it. The dash cam provides a reliable witness to any incident that could cost them money. It helps identify situations where the claim is genuine versus those that could be suspect. Just look at the recent spate of ‘crash for cash’ incidents, where organised gangs were causing accidents to claim compensation for all kinds of injuries. You may remember seeing dashcam footage in news reports demonstrating the clearly dangerous manoeuvres being carried out in these cases. Yet without this footage, it would have been much harder to argue that the ‘injured party’ was actually the one at fault. Dashboard cameras remove this doubt and protect insurance companies from fraudulent claims. Companies such as Swiftcover and AXA offer this type of discount.
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Provides the evidence needed to apportion blame
To use just one example, conventional driving wisdom is that if you hit the back of the car in front of you, you’re the one at fault. However, the crash for cash scam showed that this might not be the case and the other driver may have performed a move so erratic that the driver behind had no chance of avoiding a collision. A dash cam protects you; if you’re not at fault in an accident it will provide the footage needed to prove who is, regardless of what the initial impression of the incident may be.
Recent case where a driver crashed into parked cars and drove off
There has been a number of occasions recently where we have seen drivers crashing into parked cars during night time only to drive off and leave the messed wreckage behind. A bit like the footage in the below video :
If you leave the dashcam on when you’re away from your car, it also provides an additional form of security, monitoring what happens when it’s parked up. It’s so frustrating to come back to your vehicle and find fresh damage. With a dashboard camera, you at least have a chance of finding someone who’s driven off without leaving details.