Progressive Insurance "Snapshot"

[thyme4change]

Progressive Insurance will put a device in your car to decide if your "driving habits" merit a rate decrease.

I am not one of those big "privacy people." But, for some reason, this little piece of technology has given me the Big Brother hee-bee-gee-bees.

Have you heard of this? What do you think?

www.progressive.com/snapshot/

[zibazinski]

I find their rates to be higher and their rep/service to be so not worth it.

[bean29]

I agree Thyme. I think I am a good driver, but , I am not willing to subject myself to Big Brother looking over my shoulder on everything I do.

Think about it who comes out ahead. If you speed your rate goes up. Old people going too slow -rates go up. Can it tell if you consistently run red lights? Turn corners too fast? Their web site does not say exactly how much it is capable of determining. Oh, and I don't believe you can just cancel your enrollment if your rate would go up and it will not affect you at all. Watch what happens at the next renewal.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

I'll just stick with State Farm

[phil5185]

But, for some reason, this little piece of technology has given me the Big Brother hee-bee-gee-bees.

You may already have this. The air bag module detects deceleration, gives a signal if you bump into something. Your nav system, GPS, or Roadside service can track your trips, show where you are now, and how fast you drove to get here. Your cornering and ABS logs your cornering acceleration. And engine monitoring modules (the ones that dealers use for diagnostics) can record the max rpm of the engine (along w/ about 600 other metrics). It would be pretty simple to grab all of these signals, run them thru a processor, and log them on a flash drive.

When I drove 18-wheelers many years ago, the trucks had Tattle-Tale charts that showed our RPM history, hours vs speed etc - modern trucks integrate that info from the Nav GPS) data. (An added advantage - years ago the tattle tale systems "broke" a lot, now the drivers like the Nav so not so many "failures")

[Poppet]

Big Brother indeed. Yuck.

That's too invasive for me as well.

Pass.

[Deleted]

Jan 14, 2011 18:00:22 GMT -5 ❤ mollymouser ❤ said:

I'll just stick with State Farm

I switched from Allstate to State Farm... Save $400.00 @ year!

[8 Bit WWBG]

I'd love to hear their answer to the question of what happens if you DON'T earn a decrease.

[thyme4change]

You may already have this. The air bag module detects deceleration, gives a signal if you bump into something. Your nav system, GPS, or Roadside service can track your trips, show where you are now, and how fast you drove to get here. Your cornering and ABS logs your cornering acceleration. And engine monitoring modules (the ones that dealers use for diagnostics) can record the max rpm of the engine (along w/ about 600 other metrics). It would be pretty simple to grab all of these signals, run them thru a processor, and log them on a flash drive.

But, is a private company getting this info and using it to price my products? As I said, I know I'm being tracked on the internet and I'm getting personalized marketing, etc. I'm okay with that.

Plus, I don't have GPS or anything too fancy for that. Because I'm cheap.

[thyme4change]

I'm not too freaked out by being tracked.

Is Homeland security selling my where-abouts to All-State, and they are using that data to price their products to me?

[Deleted]

I thought newer cars had a black box to record the thirty seconds before a crash so they could know how the driver was maneuvering and at what speed? I wouldn't want one either but I'm not interested in lowering my insurance rates any further.

[schildi]

Jan 14, 2011 15:04:25 GMT -5 bean29 said:

I think I am a good driver, .......

It's funny how pretty much everybody thinks that. I read about this survey where 90% of the people said they drive better than average. That's so funny! ;D (I am not saying you are not a good driver, bean)

No, I would also not let my insurance install a device on my car. I'd switch carriers.

[Angel!]

Geez people, overreact much:

"The Snapshot device doesn't contain GPS technology or track vehicle location. It also doesn't track whether you're exceeding the speed limit."

The only things it records is time of day, speed, & deceleration. The first 2 are used to calc how many miles you drive in general because the more miles you drive the bigger likelihood of an accident. Time of day also relates to your odds of getting in an accident. Deceleration because if you make a lot of sudden stops, then you are more likely to get in an accident.

If anyone was truly interested in tracking me, then they would just use my phone. Unless you have a pretty old phone, then odds are your phone has GPS.

[zippy478]

I have it. I enrolled in it when I switched policies and I don't find it to be invasive at all. Like someone else said - your smart phone is probably more of a big brother than this is.

In my mind, it encourages me to pay closer attention to my driving habits and not drive as aggressively. Not necessarily a bad thing...

Oh and it did save me at my renewal this month. We'll see what happens in the next six months and whether it saves...maybe my insurance will eventually be free because I'm such a good driver?

[swamp]

I drive like a maniac and I'm sure using their device would warrant a rate increase for me. No thanks.

[RoadToRiches]

I don't have a problem with it at all. You have option. You either get it or not. What's the big deal?

I used to have Progressive, but when my renewal came in, I called around and went with Nationwide for half price and really high limits, where at Progressive, my limits were really low.

[michelyn8]

Jun 3, 2011 10:38:24 GMT -5 zippy478 said:

I have it. I enrolled in it when I switched policies and I don't find it to be invasive at all. Like someone else said - your smart phone is probably more of a big brother than this is.

In my mind, it encourages me to pay closer attention to my driving habits and not drive as aggressively. Not necessarily a bad thing...

Oh and it did save me at my renewal this month. We'll see what happens in the next six months and whether it saves...maybe my insurance will eventually be free because I'm such a good driver?

I have it too and haven't had an issue - yet. I'm still in my initial tracking period.

It is interesting, to me at least, to go online and see the info from day to day. It will track how many time you hard brake (decelerate 7+mph in so many seconds), how many trips you make in a day, how far you drove and for how long and the time of day you've been driving.

It has made me more aware of how I drive in town. However, my interstate driving hasn't changed. Since I normally stay 5-10 miles within the speed limit and know where along my route to watch for the deputies and troopers, I don't worry about that.

[mamasita99]

I have this too, a couple more weeks then I will see if I qualify for a "low risk" driver discount. Although I'm one of the 90% of Americans who claim I am a good driver, so far my Snapshot record indicates I am a "medium risk" due to time of day and how many hard brakes I make (I drive mostly during commuter hours).

[ouchica]

I wouldn't mind having that if I had progressive. If it would help with getting lower rates then why not. As long as it didn't have a recording mechanism I would be fine ;D

My SO and I used to be with Geico up till last month when he found out we would be paying half of what we pay now for 6 month premium with Geico. So we switched to USAA for this month so we will see how it goes for us there.