Tracking Driving Habits with OBDII port (for insurance savings)

[edmscan]

Does anyone use a Snapshot (Progressive Insurance in US) or Ajusto (Desjardins Insurance in Canada) for their OBDII port in their Yaris, to track their driving habits (for insurance purposes) ?

I am hoping that my insurance company offers this soon .. as they offer up to 25% off on your insurance rates.

This is what they are calling "Usage Based" insurance, and is apparently gaining popularity worldwide.

[Septembersrain]

>_< I think I drive good but I do speed...

[edmscan]

I don't know about the Progressive Insurance (US) program .. but the following is information on the Desjardins Insurance (Canadian) savings program. (just information I got from their website)

Annual savings are based on:

Kilometres. Do you drive less than 15,000 km/year? With ******, the less your vehicle is driven, the more you save—up to 10%!

Acceleration and braking. The more smoothly your vehicle is driven, the bigger your savings—up to 10%!

Are you a good driver?

You avoid accelerating fast and braking hard in your vehicle by not tailgating or speeding through yellow lights. It's these safe driving habits that make ******* perfect for you!

Travel times. Certain times of the day are less risky on the roads (example: weekend, during the day), and less risk means more savings—up to 5%!

Based on the data collected for these 3 driving habits, ********* Insurance will calculate if you are eligible for renewal premium savings.

Kilometres up to 10% savings

Acceleration and up to 10% savings
braking

Travel times up to 5% savings

Annual savings Up to 25%

[edmscan]

I think as a Yaris driver (I drive like a granny ... so I think it would be good for me, but it is not available yet in my area) .. this would be a very good option for saving on Insurance rates.

[nookandcrannycar]

I drive like a granny as well. I think I'm frugal and value conscious. People who live beyond their means usually think I'm cheap. I love my family. If my little cousin who inspired my Yarisworld screen name asks me to buy her a new car when she turns 16, I'll probably do it if it's okay with her mom (she's 11 now). If the U.S. was like many other industrialized nations (where if you move out of the country you don't owe income tax (yeah I know the U.S. has a limited credit if you are paying income tax to a foriegn government), you can come back a limited number of days each year, and you don't have to give up your citizenship) I would be gone in a heartbeat. However, the U.S. taxes on worldwide income and the only way (to my understanding) to get permanently disengaged from being beholden to the IRS (never again having to think about how to reduce or eliminate liability) is to do as Eduardo Saverin did-- give up your U.S. citizenship and pay what amounts to an 'exit fee'. I'm not willing to do either. When it comes to the IRS, the IRS gets exactly what I owe them. When it comes to corporations, I view them as wanting to extract as much money from me as possible and I'm out to make sure they get as little of my money as possible, with one exception: I'm not willing to give up more privacy just to save money. I think corporations are too intrusive. I don't have anything to hide. I'm just a libertarian who also thinks that our overreaching government (aided by technology) is eroding our civil liberties and constitutional protections to a degree that is unconstitutional, in the name of 'keeping us safe' . No offense meant to you personally (and I usually agree with you), I just think that such products in the U.S. market are among the most insidious offered by any corporation and I have a skeptical view re to what end the information would be used. Perhaps if I were more familiar with all of the ins and outs of how a like scenario would work/play out in Canada, I would feel as you do re how such a product would apply to your situation.

[edmscan]

I have nothing to hide, as I feel I am a good driver. I too am frugal, for lack of a better word. (ok call me cheap, but I am not too cheap, but do like saving a buck.)

The only concern I have is that people have said since installing their "Snapshot" device, they have had issues with drained batteries. This would be a deal breaker for me, as I am not accepting for problems with my car just to save a few bucks.

Maybe someone can inform me if the device when plugged into your port would actually be capable of draining your battery ? I know that my ScanGauge shuts itself off when I turn off the ignition.

I am not terribly concerned about any privacy issues with such a device at this point. It has been stated that the devices will NOT be used to raise insurance rates, but solely to determine if people would qualify for a discount.

[Absolutely Red 12]

Originally Posted by edmscan

Does anyone use a Snapshot (Progressive Insurance in US) or Ajusto (Desjardins Insurance in Canada) for their OBDII port in their Yaris, to track their driving habits (for insurance purposes) ?

I am hoping that my insurance company offers this soon .. as they offer up to 25% off on your insurance rates.

This is what they are calling "Usage Based" insurance, and is apparently gaining popularity worldwide.

Better they not know my driving habits!!

[edmscan]

Originally Posted by Absolutely Red 12

Better they not know my driving habits!!

If you are not a safe cautious driver (or drive a "performance" Yaris) .. I can understand your desire.

My Yaris is stock .. so I don't go anywhere very fast.

[seth_man]

Originally Posted by edmscan

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.

only issue, if you can call it an issue is that unless you have an dlc port splitter you cannot run more than 1 obd device, i have a blitz r-vit (a fancy scanguage) and i had to get a splitter cable to run both at the same time. battery power will never run out, the snapshot device used a very small amout of power, in sleep mode with the car off current draw was only .06 mA.

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

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.

i was already with progressive because they were the lowest rate for identical coverage, i have been with progressive for 8 years and all the cars and house are all with progressive, every year i call them and hassel them about the rate and ususally it gets dropped a little.

Originally Posted by edmscan

If you are not a safe cautious driver (or drive a "performance" Yaris) .. I can understand your desire.

My Yaris is stock .. so I don't go anywhere very fast.

if you dont put a lot of miles on your car or you dont drive at night often then its for you weather you drive fast or not, i am a very offensive driver, i do not drive slow and i do drive a "performance" yaris. wide sticky tires and lots of suspension upgrades helped me because i dont brake that often or slow down for corners, stop signs and red lights need to be anticipated so you dont brake to hard but since they dont take speed into consideration you can still drive as fast as you want. i did however take the snapshot out of my car when i go autox due to the lots of hard braking

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by seth_man

only issue, if you can call it an issue is that unless you have an dlc port splitter you cannot run more than 1 obd device, i have a blitz r-vit (a fancy scanguage) and i had to get a splitter cable to run both at the same time. battery power will never run out, the snapshot device used a very small amout of power, in sleep mode with the car off current draw was only .06 mA.




i was already with progressive because they were the lowest rate for identical coverage, i have been with progressive for 8 years and all the cars and house are all with progressive, every year i call them and hassel them about the rate and ususally it gets dropped a little.




if you dont put a lot of miles on your car or you dont drive at night often then its for you weather you drive fast or not, i am a very offensive driver, i do not drive slow and i do drive a "performance" yaris. wide sticky tires and lots of suspension upgrades helped me because i dont brake that often or slow down for corners, stop signs and red lights need to be anticipated so you dont brake to hard but since they dont take speed into consideration you can still drive as fast as you want. i did however take the snapshot out of my car when i go autox due to the lots of hard braking

Very interesting...and your answer already answered what was going to be my next question (which was - Does Progressive currently have other lines (other than Auto) that consumers can bundle with to get a multi-policy discount?).

[Absolutely Red 12]

They penalize for mileage, hard braking, and driving between midnight and 4 am!!

This is LA, hard braking happens evry 10 minutes, due to idiots out here.

Between midnight and 4 am is the quietest time of the day!!

Its stupid.

[edmscan]

Originally Posted by Absolutely Red 12

They penalize for mileage, hard braking, and driving between midnight and 4 am!!

This is LA, hard braking happens evry 10 minutes, due to idiots out here.

Between midnight and 4 am is the quietest time of the day!!

Its stupid.

I can understand your issues, it is not for everyone.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Absolutely Red 12

They penalize for mileage

When I changed my registration to Texas, that being 'kept track of' by the state took some getting used to. We have mandatory yearly vehicle inspections here and one of the bits of information transmitted to the state is your odometer reading.

[edmscan]

It really isn't a penalty .. just a fact of how insurance works. Drivers that drive more are more likely to get into accidents and thus they SHOULD pay higher insurance rates than those drivers that seldom drive.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by edmscan

It really isn't a penalty .. just a fact of how insurance works. Drivers that drive more are more likely to get into accidents and thus they SHOULD pay higher insurance rates than those drivers that seldom drive.

I'm okay with the reporting of the mileage thing because I understand an entity that makes the assumption that people are going to lie. I remember when 'your' agent asked you how many miles you drove a year -- just when starting with a new agent. Then the subject was never broached again. Obviously, as the world changed, that was no longer good enough. What I feel 'pushes over the line' are 2 things I can think of right away 1. 'you need to have a front plate on because the cops need to see the front plates of criminals' (a dubious perceived requirement IMO) -- even if I am not a criminal, I'm getting lumped in with them (IMO) and 2. The SCOTUS decision this week re taking a DNA sample of someone ACCUSED of a serious felony to see if the DNA matches any unsolved cases. I'm fine with this if they do it to someone who has just been CONVICTED, but not merely ACCUSED.

[Absolutely Red 12]

Originally Posted by edmscan

It really isn't a penalty .. just a fact of how insurance works. Drivers that drive more are more likely to get into accidents and thus they SHOULD pay higher insurance rates than those drivers that seldom drive.

I'll play the devil's advocate:

Drivers that drive more, have more experience!!

My last accident was 1976, Im still being rated by my mileage, and zip code.
Not my driving record!!.

Can they tell I just drove 800 miles through desert highways, which I just did!

[edmscan]

Originally Posted by Absolutely Red 12

My last accident was 1976

My last accident was last December. Guess I am one of those bad drivers.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Absolutely Red 12

Im still being rated by my mileage, and zip code.

...and the computer system at at least one insurance company (mine) is programmed to set the rate to your mailing address. My house and my UPS Store PMB box are in different zip codes. When I got my initial quote (which was the lowest I found), it was based on my house address. I hadn't given the agent the other address yet (and the other address wasn't in any database for me yet---other than the UPS Store). After noting the advantageous terms, I signed up for the policy and gave my UPS Sore PMB address. I soon got the paperwork there (different zip) and the rate was about 10% less. I talked to my new agent and he said that's just the way their system applies it, that even if they were able to change it, it would 'correct back' to what I had in front of me. He said, 'count your blessings'. This probably gives them an edge when I do comparisons each year.