With average annual car insurance costs for young drivers now topping £2,000 — more than double the UK average — Zego’s new app-based "Zego Sense" policy offers a welcome alternative to the status quo. The product uses a smartphone app to monitor driving behaviour, rewarding safe drivers with lower premiums at renewal — without requiring a black box to be installed.
“Young drivers in the UK face some of the highest insurance costs in Europe,” said Sten Saar, CEO of Zego. “We believe that if you’re a safe driver, you should pay less — regardless of your age. Zego Sense is about giving young people a fairer start, helping them save money sooner and build safer driving habits from day one.”
A New Type of Black Box — That Lives in Your Pocket
Traditional telematics policies — often known as "black box" insurance — typically require drivers to have a device physically installed in their car. Zego has turned that model on its head by launching an entirely app-based telematics solution, compatible with most smartphones. Once activated, the Zego Sense app monitors key driving behaviours like speed, braking, and cornering, then provides a real-time score. Higher scores lead to lower insurance prices when drivers renew.
And the results speak for themselves: 92% of Sense drivers saved money on renewal by driving safely.
“Young people today are digital natives. They expect smart, app-based solutions — not fiddly installations and opaque pricing,” Saar added. “Zego Sense makes fair insurance as easy as downloading an app. And unlike traditional pricing models that penalise all young drivers equally, we reward individual responsibility.”
The Cost Crisis for New Drivers
Data from MoneyHelper shows that UK drivers aged 17–20 now pay an average of £2,003 a year for insurance — compared to £941 for drivers aged 25–49. These high costs are often driven by statistical risk assumptions, which bundle cautious new drivers in with riskier ones.
At the same time, 17–24 year-olds account for 24% of serious or fatal car crashes, despite making up only 7% of UK licence holders ,which explains insurers’ pricing models, but not their fairness.
Telematics has emerged as a potential solution. According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and data from RAC Foundation, telematics policies have contributed to a 35% reduction in crash rates among 17–19-year-olds over the last decade. Many experts now view app-based driving feedback as a form of digital coaching — guiding young drivers to improve and avoid risks.
And with demand growing, over 1 million UK motorists now use a telematics policy — many of them young and newly licensed.
Zego: London-Born, Industry-Shaping
Zego, a car insurance company under the trading name of Extracover Limited , has grown from a small London startup to one of the UK's most exciting insurance challengers. Headquartered at Second Floor, 30–40 Eastcheap, London EC3M 1HD, the company has already sold over 71 million policies and served 480,000 drivers nationwide — including gig economy workers, delivery drivers, van users, and now private motorists.
The new driver product is Zego’s latest expansion into personal car insurance, and represents a continuation of the company’s mission: using technology to bring fairness, control, and affordability to UK insurance.
With features including:
- Fully comprehensive SDP cover
- Smartphone-only telematics – no hardware needed
- Personal accident, legal, and key cover
- Real-time safety insights through the app
Zego Sense is already turning heads. Young drivers can sign up in minutes, start driving, and begin earning discounts right away proving that better driving doesn’t just save lives, it saves money too.