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Carrot Insurance: Car Insurance reviews

Name: Car Insurance
Rating: 1.54 (46 reviews)

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1.38

Based on 46 reviews, last reviewed 19th Mar 2024

No new 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

No new 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

11%

74%

Latest highest rating:

4

great low price insurance as a student this seems to be a great insurance company at very reasonable prices Reviewed on: 24th August 2020

Latest lowest rating:

1

Further update from this absolute joke of a company. Further update from this absolute joke of a company. Evidently somebody behind a computer screen 400 miles away knows a road better than someone with ... Read more Reviewed on: 19th March 2024

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About this product

Car insurance premiums can become costly depending on your driving history among other factors. Telematics policies are designed to lower the cost of your premium by tracking aspects of your driving, but how well do they actually shape up? We collect Carrot car insurance reviews to help you make an informed decision about your next provider.

Carrot Insurance was launched in 2012, with the goal of encouraging safer driving with the use of rewards. By installing a telematics box into your vehicle, Carrot can monitor factors like speed and reckless behaviour in order to score your driving. For those scoring higher, weekly rewards are available to claim.

If you’re looking to be rewarded for your safe driving, read our Carrot Insurance car insurance reviews. Policies such as this are ideal for learners, new drivers and even more experienced drivers. If this sounds like you, read our reviews today. Find out if the rewards provided are of value, and how accurate policyholders believe the telematics are at scoring their driving.

Have you had a policy with Carrot Insurance? Whether good or bad, share your experience with our Smart Money People community. How did you find the telematics included with this policy? Did you feel like Carrot scored your driving fairly? Did you redeem many rewards, and were they of value to you? Did you have to make a claim, and if so, how well was it handled? Leave an honest Carrot car insurance review today. Together, we can help people like you make better decisions.

Carrot Insurance Car Insurance reviews (46)

Review of the Carrot Insurance, Car Insurance:

student/new driver insurance

this seems to be a great insurance provider for new or student drivers at a reasonable price Reviewed on: 24th August 2020

Good customer service

Good customer service but the black box always played up. So much hustle Reviewed on: 7th December 2018

Avoid like the plague!

I would discourage anyone from insuring with this company - no matter how favourable their prices seem. The ‘better driver app’ purports to accurately score driving but the reality is that it is unreliable and erratic. Carrot will then begin to bombard you with constant emails threatening to cancel your policy because of ‘negative scores’ with no evidence or explanation as to how these negative driving scores are worked out. My daughter and I bit the bullet after a month and cancelled the policy. This is when you find out that Carrot charge exorbitant cancellation fees as well as 35% of your total premium for ONE MONTH’S cover meaning that we have paid almost 50% of our annual premium for one month’s insurance! This company are (in my view) out to rip off and exploit young drivers and I urge anyone who has been charged over the odds to lodge a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman - I will be. Oh, and to cap it all, expect to be put on hold for at least 40 mins each time you call customer services before you can get to speak to anyone. As the title of my review says, “avoid this company like the plague.” Reviewed on: 18th November 2018

Dog sh*t

Nicest way to put it.... Terrible communication, threatening letters, won't give up no claims certificate, for my new insurance company. Maybe its one of them companies that 'once received payment, they don't give a monkey's. Steer away of corrupted company. Reviewed on: 15th November 2018

FINED £700 DUE TO CALLING 3 DAYS LATE RE BLACK BOX!!!!

Carrot committed Daylight Robbery when they cancelled my 19 year old sons Insurance Policy and retained £700 of our £1800 Premium for doing so! “Why?” you may ask?! Because he was convicted for dangerous driving? Because he hid driving convictions from Carrot when taking out his first ever policy with them? Because he had criminal convictions?........ No no no…..none of the above – but because he was 3 days late phoning Carrot to arrange installation of his Telematics box. Yes you didn’t read that wrong – Carrot took £700 of his money because he was 3 days late in phoning them to arrange fitting of his Black Box. My son has recently passed his test and as a family we made savings to enable him to have his first car and as with any other first time driver we had to make savings in order to pay for the costly first time driver insurance policy. He took ownership of this process and after finding a policy with Carrot he took control of administering that policy and of organising the fitting of the Black Box. In the midst of this he celebrated his 19th Birthday and went away for a week. As a result he was 3 days late calling to arrange the fitting. Do not forget that this was his first time of going through this process – he was learning as he went along. And he made a small mistake. A mistake that he readily admits to and is willing to accept the consequences of. BUT for that simple mistake they have kept £700 of his money – a few points I would like to make here: We had paid for the policy in one lump sum – and that payment was taken immediately. They are now taking 5 days to refund the rest of the money. If we had decided to pay our premium in monthly instalments then they would not have been able to keep £700 of our money – but in this case our money was sitting in their coffers and they decided to keep £700 of it. Where is the sense in the rationale that they have used?! There isn’t any. They retained 35% of the premium – this is their structured penalty system – so if our premium had been £300 they would only have retained circa £100 – again where is the sense in this rationale? How can this be fair and ethical? And of course we needed insurance for his car immediately so we had to pay out £1800 again to make sure he was covered – and they took our money very willingly again – despite inflicting such a hefty “fine” on him of £700! Has anyone else out there experienced Carrot committing Daylight Robbery? Courts hand out smaller fines for people breaking the law, inflicting damage on property, risking peoples lives with their behaviour – my son was 3 days late making a phone call. What is the fine inflicted for driving without insurance…£100? £200? £300?............. but my son has been “fined” £700 by Carrot for trying to ensure he was following the law and driving legally. We will be following this up with the industry ombudsman and taking this matter as far as we can take it as we cannot accept that this is a fair and decent way for a business to operate – it is ethically and morally wrong. Reviewed on: 3rd November 2018

ROBBERS DISHONEST AVOID.

Bought insurance for son to be told better driver app would be needed for all named drivers. OK until we realised mine and dads fones didnt have high enough operating systems not explained at beginning what systems would be needed just told an android fone. Called carrot and was told "its ok main driver has down loaded app and underwriters will look at policy and get back to you but it will all be ok". 5 calls I made to them over 10 days asking for update average wait time well over an hour, no contact from them!!! On 14th day I called to cancel as after 14 days if you want to cancel you will be charged 35% of total premium. On this call I was asked why we wanted to cancel and after I had explained he told me " oh yes your policy would have been cancelled and 35% retained by carrot as you didnt follow t&c. I was then told some of deposit would be refunded in 3-5 working days. Today is 5th day and no refund, another call, another lengthy wait to be told "oh sorry refunds have to be entered into a diary and it hasnt been done you'll need to wait another 3-5working days. I told them its not on, Im lodging a complaint to be suddenly told money will be back in bank today by faster payment method. I jokingly asked how many call handlers the had saying half a dozen to be told "no we've got 15" hence the lenghtly wait times. This company should be investigated and clearly know what theyre doung to keep peoples money. I for one will be continuing with my complaint and urge others to do likewise as its the only way this dishonesty will be stopped. Clearly a case of YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR and in this case its GARBAGE. If I could have left less than 1 star I would have !!!!! Reviewed on: 19th October 2018

Absolutely useless

Absolutely useless! AVOID this company they are happy to take your money then cancel your policy and refuse to refund your money! Reported to trading standards! Additionally, they ask you to provide proofs through an app that doesn’t work. Overall, APPALLING customer service!!! Reviewed on: 13th July 2018

Scam

Had my box fitted a week ago. Logged onto the new driver dashboard to see that my driving score is -9.8 when i have been driving fine! They also log ALL your information so you can see where your car has been door to door. I have now come to find out that your driving score also decreases if you make very short or very long journeys. If i was told that this was a 'medium journey insurance' i wouldnt have bothered. Youre also not able to drive between 11pm and 5am - not great when you work shifts that can start at 5am or finish at midnight. When calling up to cancel i was told "no this isnt in our t's and c's on the website but its on our system" so i am now being charged £260 to cancel my policy which i have had for 3 weeks. Would not recommend to my worst enemy and will make sure i take it further. Reviewed on: 11th July 2018

Simply love to charge young people more than they can afford!

I chose carrot for my son (MY FIRST AND MOST HUMONGOUS MISTAKE) (one he may never forgive me for) as they claimed to be aimed at the young driver with support and guidance through their "black-box" system to make new drivers better, safer drivers. I have never known before such an aggressive, manipulative, thieving bunch of gits. They have fleeced my son from beginning to end. Firstly, the poor soul underestimated the miles he would do in his first year while taking out the policy. Which cost him (and me) significant harassment from Carrot over 3-4 months, but moreso, very much in finances too. Only after a great deal of intervention, rhetoric and invective from myself did they even begin to relent in their exorbitant extortion of him. Carrot's charging structure leaves alot to be desired...... Carrot significantly reduced the premium by adding myself to the policy (although it was categorically stipulated the percentage would be extremely low). Which has always left me with the fear (particularly due to their behaviour over term) should their services be required they would cite this as a reason to renege. 2) Carrot charge for Administrative changes, address, vehicle - COVehicle requires new box £130 circa - COAddress £35, etc. You get the idea. What irks me most legislation is used when they wish to charge you. You must have insurance if you have vehicle, even if SORN'ed. You should not cancel your insurance for any reason - even if you decide to sell the car or cannot afford to buy a replacement - you should continue your policy. If you changed anything and haven't paid us - you must make the change by law. An example woule be a shockingly terse and punitive call I received today (9 Jul 18), demanding that he pay £35 to do so - this is a direct quote"..... you must pay or we will cancel your policy!" Quoting laws made for them by politicians with vested interests, and shock of shockers: not in the people whom voted them into power. My final point in summary:- if they can legitamise an immoral charge they will! Carrot use, like alot of other insurers, Close Brothers to offset the instalments. This leads to: it was them, naw it was them scenario when anything goes wrong. My son, on a very low wage like the rest of us, had a choice - pay Close Brothers or pay the MOT. He chose the MOT - what's the point in having insurance if the old motors a write-off? They were on him like Flynn. "Pay up now" in text, phone calls, emails and letters. I intervened, I was informed it was Close Brothers. So I phoned CB to be told - pay up or we tell Carrot to cancel. So he paid up. Carrot seemingly don't allow young drivers to drive after ten p.m. I could see some good in this until they penalised him - I WAS DRIVING. I informed them I have been driving for thirty years, a good portion after 10pm and I could not see how their rule could affect me. I was wrong....... direct quote ".... there's more risk at this time of night." asked for example I was blessed with this quote "......an animal could run out in front of you." Call me old fashioned, but I love driving with the windows down at this time of night. The cool air blowing around me, virtually no cars and even less people. Therefore less risk! Now he has to change his address and their throwing around threats of cancellation. Carrot and Close Brother have only just had £160 circa off him, his monthly premium and charges for having the audacity to MOT the car. Their thinking being - put the car in the scrappys and pay us for evermore. Reviewed on: 10th July 2018

Gutted that I had to give one star before I could leave a review!

My son took out a policy with Carrot, they used the telematics to cancel his policy for speeding twice in five months, 32 in a 20 and 42 in a 30. He was liable for the full years premium and when offered to pay in instalments was threatened with high court action.. They aren't even that cheap, others are much cheaper. Shop around and avoid Carrot at all cost.. Reviewed on: 1st March 2018

DO NOT SIGN UP

I would give this company 0 stars if I could. Please seriously think before you pay out for this as it's an absolute con. I had my insurance cancelled after 9 months (from previous reviews it appears i am lucky to get this far). The reason it was cancelled is because I had the cheek to go on holiday and not sign into the god awful app everyday from the Canary Islands. When trying to explain to them that not only would this be costly but also ridiculous they could only tell me 'it's the policy' - perhaps this was partly my fault for not reading the 42 page PDF document but to save other potential customers from making the same mistake I have decided to post this review. To summarize i would rather s**t in my hands and clap than ever have myself or my family sign up to this absolute scam. Please save your money and go elsewhere. Reviewed on: 22nd December 2017

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