The insurer announced recently the nationwide rollout of its “Snapshot” program, which allows customers to attach a monitoring device to their car in exchange for the chance at lower rates. The device records data on driving habits based on a number of different variables, including how far you drive, what time of day you drive and how frequently you make sudden stops.
After 30 days with the device the company will take an initial discount of up to 30% based on this “snapshot,” then finalize your driving profile after six months to institute a permanent discount.
The company has been testing the system with about 250,000 drivers during the past few years, and will now expand it to 31 states. Among the states that are left out of the program are California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Illinois. It also may not work on all cars, as some vehicles built before 1996 lack the diagnostic port under the steering column to which the device attaches.
While the prospect of monitored driving might raise some privacy concerns, the company insists that it doesn’t collect GPS information or track how fast you drive, and the information also won’t be used in an insurance claim unless you give the company permission to do so.
Best of all, there’s no chance that the information will be used to raise your rate, and there’s no extra charge to participate, so it’s essentially a risk-free proposition.
If you get the device and then spend the next 30 days driving only during rush hour, slamming on the brakes and racking up tons of mileage, your rate won’t go up. And if you drive little and during the night, applying your brakes smoothly every time, your rate could go down significantly.
Call us today at 813-712-4191 for more information and a free rate quote.