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Drivewise specify the amount of deceleration and it basically ridiculous. when you drive 40 miles an hour and see yellow light that lasts only 4 seconds, you hit the brakes and slow down in 3 seconds because one second was for you to hit the brakes you don't do that immediately right? So every time you do that they took your event as excessive braking.!!! They basically in force you to go through the yellow light no matter what otherwise she will not get your discount. trust me I had it in my car and after months of driving I got zero discount just because of that my car is minivan Toyota sienna 3.3L 13 years old, and I completely failed to drive it safe based on Allstate guidelines on braking!
I would never install one of these regardless of the insurance company. Yeah they may not use those negatives against you now to raise your rates, but that data is collected and stored for down the road.....
Drive Wise and the other similar "trackers" are simply giving the insurance company information that WILL be used to raise your rates or deny your next claim. They see it as a way to make or save them money for their bottom line or they wouldn't do it.
I'm in the insurance business and I never recommend those devices to my clients!
On a side note....I was in a car accident 20 years ago that required me to get a lawyer. I had Allstate at the time, but I was going after the other person's insurance company. I'll never forget when my lawyer told me that when I left his office I was should go find another insurance company for my car insurance. When I asked him why he said because they are the worst insurance company out there when it comes to paying claims and he had been a lawyer for almost 40 years. I listened and never looked back. Now that I'm in the insurance business I always hear horror stories about them!
Your lawyer was right then and they are 100x worse now. It's all about their bottom line and saving money at all costs. It' funny (but not funny) how billion dollar companies make their profits taking advantage of people in times of need.
Good book about how Allstate handles business:
From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves: The Dark Side of Insurance by David J. Berardinelli
The answer is: Yes. You should use the Drivewise app. Drivewise gives you a 3% discount off your policy, comes automatically enabled, and you only need to complete 1 trip with the app to keep it active. So, even if you hate the idea, install the app, register, turn it on (you gain 10,000 points), visit the website (that's another 5,000), drive to the store (that's your one trip), then uninstall the app and never think about it again.
As telematics go, Drivewise is one of the better products. For example, the Progressive Snapshot app/plug-in must be on pretty much all the time, and you don't see any actual benefits for using the product until your renewal. The State Auto app is the same way — nothing till renewal. So, if you choose to go telematics with one of these companies, make sure you sign up for a 6-month policy so your renewal comes faster.
Liberty Mutual/Safeco make you keep it in your car for 3 months, and then you get your discount. It's better than Progressive's method.
As for whether Allstate is a good company to be insured for, it's not that hard to figure out. Most of us shop by price. If Allstate gives you a good price, then you should seriously consider the company. For me, no one can beat Sublimity. It doesn't have all the features that an Allstate or Progressive would have (website access to policy, high-tech apps, etc.) but it gets the job done.
In my opinion, when you want insurance, you should ask yourself a simple question: Do I have a typical situation or an atypical situation? If you drive a normal car, live in a normal house, and drive a normal distance to a normal job, then you just need a cookie-cutter policy. Go to an independent agent and the big 3 captives (State Farm, Geico, Allstate) and see what happens.
If, on the other hand, you have a special situation then you need someone who is an expert on his product. No independent agent can know all the ins and outs of the dozens of companies he represents. Get quotes from several captives.
One thing I know about Allstate is that it has no limitations on dog breeds. So if you have a Pit Bull, a Rottweiler, or a wolf-dog crossbreed as a pet, head straight to Allstate. Auto-Owners, Liberty Mutual, ASI, et. al., will simply tell you straight out that you are ineligible.
Similarly, if you drive an Aston Martin or have a solar panel roof, check the captives. They'll immediately know whether they have a product that will work for you.
Continuous monitoring seems overly intrusive and like little more than a tactic to slowly erode your discount over time.
I see this as a way to collect excuses to take away the discount that they offered you to get you to sign up in the first place.
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