Looking for a Christmas present for yourself? How about one that will save you money for years to come – and help you stay out of legal scrapes.

Contractors spend a great deal of their time on the road. And although you can often claim tax back on travel expenses – the sheer number of miles you get through each year can push up the price of your insurance premiums.

Anything that can bring down these premiums is most welcome and that’s where a dash cam can be your best friend.

What is a dash cam?

A dash cam is a forward-mounted video camera that usually sits on your windscreen and records the road as you drive.

There are different types. Some professionally installed cameras are wired into your vehicle, but most just plug into the 12V socket in your car.

Most dash cams store footage on a Micro SD card and simply rewrite old footage when they get full (so you need to make sure you save any recordings that you want to keep).

They range in price from around £50 to £300+, but you can get a good dash cam for a reasonable ‘middle of the road’ price.  

Why are they beneficial?

Dash cams have taken off in recent years and it’s easy to see why.

They are relatively cheap, straightforward and, because they can be used in UK courts, they can help protect you from drawn out legal battles.

This could be someone claiming that an accident is your fault, which is a particular concern with many ‘cash-for-crash’ scams flying about at the moment.

You may also be able to use the footage to avoid points on your licence or even a prison sentence in the right circumstances. 

As an added bonus, many police forces now accept dash cam footage which they can use to prosecute other misbehaving drivers. So you can help make the roads safer for everyone (or at least get some revenge on that mobile phone-using driver who cut you off after a long day on the road). 

Cheaper insurance

With all these benefits, particularly around disputed accidents, it is easy to see why many big car and van insurance companies are starting to incentivise drivers to buy dash cams.

AXA, one of the UK’s largest car insurance providers will give new and returning customers a no-questions asked 10% off their insurance if they have a dash cam.

They stipulate that the dash cam must be ‘permanently fitted,’ and say that professional installation is ‘preferred,’ but you are unlikely to run into trouble so long as you install it properly. 

AXA-owned Swiftcover also offer customers 10% off their premiums and RAC offer a flat £30 off for dash cam owners. Depending on how expensive your premium is, this flat-rate fee cut could end up being a large saving.

For van owners and other commercial drivers, Nextbase, a leading manufacturer of dash cams, has teamed up with Constructaquote.com to offer 15% off van and fleet insurance when a Nextbase dash cam is installed. 

For more information email team@umbrella.co.uk or visit www.umbrella.co.uk