Tracking Driving Habits with OBDII port (for insurance savings)

[edmscan]

I have learned that the "Ajusto" device (the device used in Canada) goes into "Sleep Mode" when the car is shut off, much like a ScanGauge device.

I don't know about the SnapShot device used by Progressive in the US, but I am sure that their website probably has the answer.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by edmscan

I have learned that the "Ajusto" device (the device used in Canada) goes into "Sleep Mode" when the car is shut off, much like a ScanGauge device.

I don't know about the SnapShot device used by Progressive in the US, but I am sure that their website probably has the answer.

It is probably better (more beneficial to you) that you have the perspective you do, and there's probably a 99.9 percent chance that what is being presented to you is true. I just think the concept itself is insidious, and I wouldn't believe what is being claimed unless the technology was explained to me, I understood it, and could see for myself that the settings on the device match what is claimed. Earlier tonight I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in a few months. He has his own small company. He designs and installs elaborate security/computer/cameras systems etc....for some reason mostly for big ranches and ships registered to foreign oil companies. He's a really calm, health oriented guy. He said tonight 'Remember, never trust anyone'. I can't possibly go to that extreme, I just have a lot more cynicism than most people. Perhaps what he does has influenced him (kind of like a divorce lawyer not wanting to be married). With me, it's having experienced a lot of lies in personal situations.

[seth_man]

i used snapshot, used it for 3 months, got a 22% discount. still drove normally, pleanty of 80+mph highway cruises, just gotta watch the time of day you drive and how hard you decelerate or brake.

[edmscan]

Originally Posted by seth_man

i used snapshot, used it for 3 months, got a 22% discount. still drove normally, pleanty of 80+mph highway cruises, just gotta watch the time of day you drive and how hard you decelerate or brake.

I totally think that this would be a money saving option for me, as I am a pretty cautious driver.

Did you have any issues with your Snapshot ? Like car battery problems.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by seth_man

i used snapshot, used it for 3 months, got a 22% discount. still drove normally, pleanty of 80+mph highway cruises, just gotta watch the time of day you drive and how hard you decelerate or brake.

This may sound rhetorical, but were you already with Progressive because they were already the lowest quote you obtained? I obtained quotes from them in the past (BEFORE snapshot) and they were never the cheapest.

I must admit though, if you have to sit through a commercial, their commercials are better than most.

[edmscan]

Of course a consumer has to check the market to see if this "Usage Based" insurance is for them.

I pay about 900$ for my Yaris now, so if I got quoted $1200 for Usage Based insurance even with the maximum 25% discount, it just wouldn't make financial sense. So there have to be the right numbers for it to make financial sense.

I understand some people may have privacy concerns, but to me it is really a non issue. I don't care if my insurance company finds out whether I drive 5,000 or 10,000 km or if I drive at 7 PM at night or 2 AM. This really isn't an invasion of my personal privacy, so I don't have a problem with it.

As was mentioned above .. you will just get a bigger discount if you are a good driver and do the right things. Really if you think about it, the insurance company would obviously have a customer base full of good safe drivers as it will just save them money in claims. So it is a win-win for everyone involved.

The insurance company wins cause drivers are more cautious as they know they are being monitored and the driver wins cause they are being rewarded for their safe driving habits.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by edmscan

Of course a consumer has to check the market to see if this "Usage Based" insurance is for them.

I pay about 900$ for my Yaris now, so if I got quoted $1200 for Usage Based insurance even with the maximum 25% discount, it just wouldn't make financial sense. So there have to be the right numbers for it to make financial sense.

I understand some people may have privacy concerns, but to me it is really a non issue. I don't care if my insurance company finds out whether I drive 5,000 or 10,000 km or if I drive at 7 PM at night or 2 AM. This really isn't an invasion of my personal privacy, so I don't have a problem with it.

As was mentioned above .. you will just get a bigger discount if you are a good driver and do the right things. Really if you think about it, the insurance company would obviously have a customer base full of good safe drivers as it will just save them money in claims. So it is a win-win for everyone involved.

The insurance company wins cause drivers are more cautious as they know they are being monitored and the driver wins cause they are being rewarded for their safe driving habits.

A lady was driving on the 'Inner Loop' in Houston (this is Interstate 610, the Ineer (first ring) beltway that encircles Houston. She saw a guy and a woman driving in a car and the man was beating the woman. The lady called 911 from her cell phone. A few hours later she got a call on her cell phone. It was from the 2 involved in the fight. When they were in the back of the police car, the cop left his laptop screen in view and they saw the lady's number.

I was listening to a radio show sometime this Spring. A man calls in. He tells the host that a good friend of his bought some 'survivalist' books on his Kindle. Later the good friend got hassled quite a bit (because of these book purchases) when his security clearance was up for renewal.

'Lumping' by driving record sort of already exists. If your driving record all of a sudden gets really bad, you may get put into a separate assigned risk company that has the same parent company...and of course you will pay more with the assigned risk company.

People definitely have different views re privacy and a right to privacy. I was just reading a bit about the U.S. constitutional right to privacy on one of the stanford.edu websites. The line I found to be the most sage essentially stated that which personal decisions have been protected by the privacy right has varied depending upon the makeup of the court (the Supreme Court of the United States). We saw that with the decision this week in the DNA case with Scalia and the ladies (an unusual subset) in the minority and feeling as I do.

I pay about $500 per year for (specifically) my auto policy, so my savings with your path would be barely over half your savings.