Insurance is a significant and necessary cost to consider when buying a car. There are various ways to bring your premiums down, for instance, ensuring the car is in a garage at night. However, for perhaps the first time, the safety features of your next car could affect your monthly premiums.

Volvo safety features benefit motorists

UK motorists seem to be the first to feel this affect. Following extensive testing by Thatcham’s Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre, commissioned by the Association of British Insurers to research all Autonomous Emergency Braking systems (AEB) to validate the effectiveness of such systems, the insurers have decided to include these safety features as a factor in insurance ratings.

The inclusion has happened very soon after a technology’s emergence on the market; testament to the industry’s confidence in these system’s potential to significantly reduce accident damage and personal injury.

The Swedish car maker Volvo has now announced that new Volvo owners could see their annual insurance premiums fall by as much as £160 (about R2395.34) as its City Safety AEB is now fitted as standard across the whole range (apart from the XC90).

We have contacted the South African Insurance Association to find out if local insurance companies are investigating this development for introduction to the local market. We await their response and will follow up as soon as we have more information.

Volvo safety features include Volvo’s City Safety low-speed collision avoidance system operates at speeds up to 50 km/h on the V40 (currently 30 km/h on other Volvo models), keeps an eye on traffic in front and automatically brakes if the driver fails to react in time when the vehicle in front slows down or stops – or if the car is approaching a stationary vehicle too fast.

Following its success in reducing accidents and injury, Volvo took the decision to fit its award winning City Safety technology as standard to all subsequent new models reflecting the brand’s commitment to developing the safest vehicles across its range.

“With City Safety AEB now fitted as standard across all new production Volvos except the XC90, it’s fantastic to see the technology recognised by Thatcham, ultimately allowing Volvo drivers to enjoy big cost savings on their insurance. The continued introduction of all these lifesaving technologies links back to our Vision 2020 long term objective that by 2020 no one should be killed or injured in a new Volvo,” said Volvo Car UK managing director Nick Connor.

The European Commission has suggested widespread adoption of AEB could reduce accidents by up to 27 per cent, potentially saving 8,000 lives a year and reducing insurance claims by up to £6.3 billion. In the future it could also be “practically impossible” for car models to obtain an NCAP five-star rating without this technology fitted.