Being Tracked by your Car Insurance Company can Help you Save
Being tracked on your driving habits by your insurance company can make you a better driver, but are you willing to take that risk?
Could you handle adjusting your driving habits to save on your car insurance each month? That’s the angle most insurance companies are taking nowadays. They’re offering you a usage-based or also known as telematics-based Insurance programs that track your driving habits in return for Savings of up to 50% on your insurance premiums.
In situations like these, it isn’t always straightforward. Yes, you may get the benefit of lower car insurance pricing simply by having safer driving habits, but some insurance companies actually increase your driving premium due to aggressive driving traits. Progressive Insurance uses a similar program called a snapshot. It is a driving based usage program that tracks you’re driving. Progressive has stated that out of every ten drivers, two of them have seen a price increase.
Your insurance company can track your driving habits in one of two ways, either they send you a smart tag we’ll just a small device that you attach to your windshield and connects to your mobile device. It then transmits data via Bluetooth between the smart tag and your device, which is passed off to your insurance company. The second option is your insurance company sending you an OBD reader. Listen to your OBD port and it transmits data to your insurance company.
Regardless of which device you’re insurance company uses a track of your driving habits, they both follow the same type of algorithm. The data transferred back to your insurance company is giving you a driving score which in turn based on how your score is rated your insurance premium can either drop or increase. Things such as your acceleration, cornering, speed, miles driven, and even time of day are many of the factors that come together when your insurance company is tracking your driving habits.
By having a usage-based insurance program a driver is mindful of their habits. Research has proven younger drivers how to improve their driving habits quickly over older drivers and women have improved over men as well. Overall, this approach reduces the risk of distracted driving.
The overall approach to saving car insurance with a usage-based program is a great start. But sometimes it does beg the question too many people how much can you actually save by using this? Will you do have to break down the situation and find out where you stand and see if it’ll be beneficial to you. If you already have a great insurance premium with good driving habits, it may be worthwhile to check it out. Or given the situation and you’re comfortable where you’re at, you might actually want to pass on it. although if you’re a driver that has aggressive tendencies, and are willing to improve your driving habits to become a safer driver on the road you can definitely sign up for one of these usage-based programs. Not only will you be mindful of your driving habits but you’ll be able to be much safer on the road and knowing that you’re saving money while you do so.