Frequently asked questions
Below are some answers to questions that we get a lot, but we're sure there are many more! If there's anything you'd like to know, feel free to get in touch.
About us
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What is Kudo?
Kudo will be a car insurance company. We want to change the way car insurance works, making it more transparent, better value, and more fun.
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How will I buy a policy?
We're an app-based business, and we'll only insure safe drivers. The only way to buy a policy will be to download the app, take the test, and prove you're as good a driver as you think!
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Why can't I find you on comparison websites?
As we mentioned above, the only way to get a policy will be through our test, so you won't find us on comparison websites! Selling policies straight to you is another reason we hope to offer great value.
The app
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How does the app work?
Using the accelerometers in your phone and GPS data, we measure how you're driving to form a picture of how safely (we hope!), you get around.
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What are you measuring?
To form a picture of your driving style, we look at the following: High Speed, Mileage, Harsh Braking, Time of Day, Distraction, and Acceleration. We also use location services to work out what sort of roads you're driving on, otherwise it'd be tricky to understand how you're driving!
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Will the app ruin my battery life?
Luckily not! Kudo's technology uses a clever technique called ‘geofencing’ to make sure it only intensively uses location services while you’re driving - keeping the battery impact low. As a result, battery consumption from our app is almost always comfortably below 10%. On newer phones, you can expect even better performance!
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Does Cherry work on all phones?
At the moment, Kudo is only available on Android and iOS (Apple) devices. If you use a different phone and you’d like to use Kudo, please let us know! The more we hear from you, the sooner we can get about making our app more widely available.
The Test
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How will the test work?
The driving test is where we both learn a bit about how you drive! Over a two-three week period, you go about driving as you normally would, and we’ll give you regular feedback about how you’re getting on - as well as a few little games and quizzes if that’s what floats your boat. Don’t worry - we will only quote you based on your driving behaviour and normal things like where you live, what car you drive (so you don’t have to worry about scoring a little low in a quiz or game).
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Can I retake the test?
At the moment, each user can only take the test once (unless there are exceptional circumstances - we get that strange things happen!). Watch this space though, as it may change in the future.
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How do you judge who's a good driver?
As mentioned above, we rate your driving on six different factors: speed, acceleration, braking, time of day, mileage, and phone usage (or distraction). These criteria are based on lots and lots of (riveting) research and, while we understand that sometimes you can’t help what time of day you drive, for example, it does have a correlation to the likelihood of accidents. As we mentioned elsewhere, we can only give what we do to our customers by insuring the best and safest of the UK’s drivers, so unfortunately we’ve got to bear that in mind! That said, no one factor makes up our whole image of a driver, so if you’re a fantastic driver who happens to drive only at rush hour, we’d still love to have you!
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Will you give everyone a quote?
Unfortunately not! We can get our customers the best price and perks because we only insure the safest of drivers. However, we’re sure you’re a great driver, so please don’t feel put off from taking the test.
Policies
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Will I be able to I have more than one person on my policy?
Of course! When you start the test we’ll ask you if you’re the sole policyholder or not. If you have multiple people on your policy, we’ll ask you to invite the others to download the app and take the test. Once everyone has completed their test (and passed with flying colours, we’re sure), we’ll reveal the price for that policy.
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How can I trust you'll pay out if I have a claim?
Having to claim on your car insurance has traditionally been a stressful and difficult process, and Kudo was created with changing that situation in mind. The in-app claims features will make sure we can look after you straight away if the worst happens, and give you all the information you need. Once you’ve uploaded the relevant information in-app, we’ll get straight on with resolving your claim. You will always have access to an in-house Kudo team member to contact however you wish about your claim, and you can view its status in-app. Because of our clever claims process, we can cut out a lot of the back and forth and mistrust associated with making a car insurance claim, and, providing everything’s in order, get you back in action quicker than anyone else!
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How do I pay for my policy?
You will be able to make payment for your policy in-app, either up-front or by instalments.
The app
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What happens if I switch off location services?
In order for Kudo to work, we need everyone to play along! We hope to get you a great price and give you a bucket of perks and rewards, but that’s all based on you letting Kudo use location services to learn about how you drive. In our policy T&Cs we will say that for your policy to be valid location services must be enabled. We know everyone’s human and the odd mistake might happen, but if we think there’s a pattern emerging, one of our friendly people will get in touch to explain the above. If a customer refused to re-enable location services or continued to deny our app access, we may be forced to amend or cancel your insurance (although we really really don’t want to do that and only would in extreme scenarios).
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What if the app thinks I drove a journey I didn’t, or vice versa?
In the early days, while the app is learning how your drive, it may mis-classify a journey as one you drove when you were a passenger, or vice versa. This is perfectly normal, and you can help it learn by simply correcting the journey in the app with the driving/not driving tab. We know what you’re thinking though, and we’d advise you don’t get tempted to do this for every speedy journey you try and sneak through! Some clever machine learning and wizardry on our end makes it clear when someone’s trying to, let’s say, give themselves a helping hand, and we’re unlikely to quote users we expect of doing this. Kudo's unashamedly for safe and honest drivers!
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What if my phone dies mid-trip?
We know that sometimes you rush out of the house with your phone on dangerously low battery, or your phone crashes for no apparent reason. We’re all humans and accidents happen - we’re not going to punish you for the odd freak incident. However, as above, we do keep an eye on how often this is happening, and, if we’re concerned that a policyholder is being a bit cheeky, we’ll probably want to have a word (in the friendliest way possible)! If a user is frequently turning off their phone in the test period (and popping up elsewhere, 20 miles down the A1, for example), we probably won’t be too impressed!
The Prize Draw
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What is the Kudo Prize Draw?
We’re trying to make car insurance more fun and rewarding. Every month, we will have a lottery draw for a number of prizes - any policy holder can enter. Good luck!
Claims
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