App that monitors my driving

[Veritas Vincit]

The ingenious idea behind these apps is that most people think they're good drivers, the insurance companies know most of them aren't.

[elnina]

Originally Posted by akrausz

I just changed car insurance and was offered a discount if I install their app to monitor my driving. So I opted in...who doesn't like a discount right?

Anybody use one of these apps and had their premium increase as a result of the data collected?

I was offered such option but decided to not participate.
https://www.wkw.com/car-insurance-trackers/

[MsVulcan500]

I had Progessive Snapshot in my car for a few months and this is what I learned.

If you are rolling to a slow stop but push hard on the brake pedal at the last second it counts as a hard stop.

If you are approaching a light that turns yellow they would rather you run the yellow/red than stop kind of fast. Our speed limits here are 45 on most major streets and everyone drives 50+. Sometimes the light turns unexpectedly. Many have countdown timers you can see, but they are not always working.

I went from a 4 star driver to a 5 star driver, then right before my policy renewed I was suddenly a 3 star driver for no reason. I saved $17 over a 6 month period for this until the device wigged out and drained my brand new battery while the car was parked in the garage for a couple of days.

I'm sure most insurance companies will make this monitoring the standard, but I will hold out as long as possible next time.

[heavymind]

Originally Posted by MsVulcan500

I'm sure most insurance companies will make this monitoring the standard, but I will hold out as long as possible next time.

Only because people are dumb and easily led by offering them a few dollars or some shiny trinkets. Let's hope there's enough pushback from drivers who refuse to comply, though at this point I doubt it.

In a few decades the old timers will tell stories about when they used to drive their own cars, and how nobody else knew where they were or where they were going. And it'll sound unbelievable to the current youth who are totally used to having every facet of their lives monitored and controlled.

[PoconoCountryLady]

Originally Posted by adjusterjack

Sure, the initial discount is small. But these devices provide an opportunity to avoid the massive rate increases that people are crying about all over the internet.

I can handle a $10 per month increase if it avoids a $100 per month increase.

And why would you get a 100 dollar a month increase. Use policygenious.com to compare insurance for the best rates.


You do not want those devices. they track you.

[adjusterjack]

So, you don't want monitoring devices to collect your data but you are willing to reveal all your information to a strange website called policygenius.com that purports to compare insurance rates from a variety of sources?

You have no idea what that website is doing with all your information.

[MKTwet]

I have an app that insurance companies use but this is an independent app that can monitor driving habits and it tells everything about your driving style which they use to create a risk profile of the insured. Today insurance rates are based on risk rather than just price of your car.

[Upminster-1]

Originally Posted by MsVulcan500

I had Progessive Snapshot in my car for a few months and this is what I learned.

If you are rolling to a slow stop but push hard on the brake pedal at the last second it counts as a hard stop.

If you are approaching a light that turns yellow they would rather you run the yellow/red than stop kind of fast. Our speed limits here are 45 on most major streets and everyone drives 50+. Sometimes the light turns unexpectedly. Many have countdown timers you can see, but they are not always working.

I went from a 4 star driver to a 5 star driver, then right before my policy renewed I was suddenly a 3 star driver for no reason. I saved $17 over a 6 month period for this until the device wigged out and drained my brand new battery while the car was parked in the garage for a couple of days.

I'm sure most insurance companies will make this monitoring the standard, but I will hold out as long as possible next time.

These examples are why I passed on the insurance discount offer when I bought a new car seven months ago. The "car" is very smart and provides "alerts" for things that go way beyond safe driving. It just ins't smart enough to put the "data" in context.

The fact that I haven't had an accident/claim in several decades should be good enough.

[burdell]

I will never accept one of those monitoring devices being placed in my car until the insurance company explains to me how they can tell if such things like hard braking are due to inattentive driving or a child running into the street in front of me or whether the skid was poor driving or a patch of ice on the ground, etc. i.e. They can record how you're driving but not the circumstances that led to driving the way you were.

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by heavymind

Thanks for the update. I'm sure whatever "discount" you might get will be recouped somehow. Like your policy will increase by $10/mo but you'll still get that generous discount in exchange for being surveilled.

I knew a woman once who signed up for this a few years ago. She was excited over getting a $50 discount on a six month policy. Trading your freedom and privacy for a whopping $12/month sounds like a raw deal, and they'll gain their money back soon enough.

It's not getting "recouped", they're just subdividing the risk pool which is largely aimed at staving off adverse selection (a topic that would take pages to explain in any detail).

The people that show safe driving will have fewer loss dollars paid out which is why the premium is lower.

Me personally, I don't participate in these programs. Personal choice, vote with your wallets everyone.