Posted on 07/09/2014 12:11:09 PM PDT by PoloSec
The proposition is simple: Install a device in your car and allow your insurance company to monitor your driving—how fast you drive, how hard you brake, how sharply you corner, and so on. In exchange, it will give you a discount on your premiums.
That might sound alarming, but it shouldn’t be surprising. Considering internet users already happily trade data on every online move they make in exchange for free services, the only surprise is tracking-based insurance isn’t already more widespread. Progressive Insurance, the biggest such insurer in the United States, says it found that
After analysis of billions of miles in driving data, Progressive has found that key driving behaviors—like actual miles driven, braking, and time of day of driving—carry more than twice the predictive power of traditional insurance rating variables, like a driver’s age, gender and the year, make and model of the insured vehicle.
The average discount on premiums for a Progressive customer who agrees to be tracked is between 10% and 15%.
In future, if you don’t agree to be tracked, you may not only pay higher premiums; perhaps you won’t even be eligible for insurance from most companies. It could be like having a shady credit history, or failing to provide the basic “know-your-customer” information required to open a bank account. “In the end, serving the ‘naysayers’ may become a specialty market niche for some carriers,” suggests a recent report (pdf) on usage-base insurance programs from Deloitte.
I had forgotten about those. I was keying only on the OBD II angle.
Seriously? That’s how you read that?
Without getting into lots of details, my dad made (and lost) a lot of money over his lifetime. He had lots of dreams—most of which did not come true. The last 15 years of his life, he lived alone in a cheap apartment two blocks from the beach at San Clemente—so going down to the beach to check out the girls was his recreation. He had enough money to buy nice meals and decent liquor. Most of his money was cash squirreled away in secret hiding places. I think he was reasonably content. As he was dying from throat cancer he said “I’ve had 80 good years, I can’t complain about the last two.”
I agree with you that many who sell insurance are woefully ignorant about basic finance. They are really just salesmen looking for their commission.
So when you cause great bodily or property harm toward another you refuse to take responsibility for your actions? Wow, how liberal of you. And you would probably be the first one screaming at the uninsured driver with nothing that caused personal or property harm to you or yours.
I don't care how good a driver you think you are, no one is perfect.
My company has implemented this for all company cars. It is universally hated. They are using it to record everything including how many miles a week the sales guys are driving. One guy got beat up in the weekly report for only driving 80 miles in a week. Oops, he was on vacation that week.
As with most brilliant ideas, we are paying $40 a car for installation, plus $35 a month per car for the monitoring and reporting. All to save... about $35 a month in premiums. I’m sure someone at corporate got a million dollar bonus for that one.
To clarify, I was not being critical. Life can kill dreams of anyone. I was just taking the facts, that for that period of time, he no longer had dreams or assets, at least not discoverable assets.
Keeping assets hidden changes everything about the premise also. That was him “hedging” that bet. Again, not a criticism, just observation.
And as long as the liquor was good, that should have helped the last two years.
Talked with my insurance agent who, BTW, is also my state Representative in Texas about the ever increasing cost of my auto insurance even though my car is a 2004, I drive very few miles and have not had an accident or ticket. He, too, said I should get a “black box” and my premium would go down. Took him to task about Texas passing the black box law and asked why our law didn’t stipulate who could access the info and for what purposes.
He said they adopted the Federal law word for word and if I had any problems I could contact the Feds in DC. Certainly not what I expected to hear from a Texas Republican legislator, particularly one who claims to be a Conservative.
Now I understand Austin is considering giving all the illegals ID cards so they can get a driver’s license, among other things. I’m sure they will also all get insurance coverage on all their cars so that our rates won’t go sky high. /s/
Whoever ends up monitoring this stuff will be in for a surprise when I take my 35 year old beater out for a spin at, say, Road Atlanta or Sebring.
She’s hot; you know it’s true.
LOL. I tend to exceed the speed limit by 7 mph, take corners fast, leave slack all around if need be (don’t crawl up the other drivers behind). They grade my driving by that device and I get a “B+.” My daughter drives like an old lady and gets an “A.” Nearly 40 years driving with just a couple warnings. Last warning was from state police for doing 58 in a 40. “I’m sorry I made you pull me over, officer.” I drive nearly every day, and the older I get the more I am inclined to be mindful of the serious responsibilities involved.
If you are a hard working citizen and middle class and above you need insurance. But if you are illegal invader you don’t need no sticking insurance. You just run back home if something bad happens.
Coercion, extortion....blackmail?
The hook is “We get to observe you at all time or you don’t get insurance”....Not gonna happen...
I get a ticket every 5 or 6 years. Luckily we have the “classes” and that’s a 2 year cycle on that, take the class avoid the points and the insurance company doesn’t find out. Now the classes are online, boring, but at least you can drink during class. I’ve never had a hard time with the responsibility aspect, I just can’t drive slow, I get bored and distracted, I’m actually probably more of a hazard when following the limit.
When did I do that? That is like asking "When you stop beating your wife...". I've done neither.
One could inadvertently cause bodily or property damage to another in any number of ways not involving a vehicle at all. Maybe we should all be required to carry $10 Million umbrella liability for walking down the sidewalk. Strange things have happened on sidewalks.
You east-coasters are consistently willing to submit to state control of your lives in ways I'd never dream of.
Besides, do you not carry underinsured/uninsured motorists coverage?
The hook is “We get to observe you at all time or you don’t get insurance”....Not gonna happen...
I wrote "offering to buy information from you" in referring to the actual state of affairs today, where nobody is saying 'or you don’t get insurance.'
Uhn, huh.
Well the supposition of the article was:
“In future, if you don’t agree to be tracked, you may not only pay higher premiums; perhaps you won’t even be eligible for insurance from most companies.”
I object.
I think you should carry liability insurance in case your second-hand cigarette smoke ever causes cancer in a third-party. This is a serious potential consequence — I’d say a $100 million policy would be appropriate. And you should be required to show proof before you can purchase cigarettes.
Remember, smoking is a privilege, not a right lol
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