Being A Good Driver Can Save You 10% On Insurance Premiums
September 05, 2024
Lately, insurance companies have been giving out 10% discount on motor vehicle insurance through a new program called “My?Driving Discount”. The only thing the insurance company requires you to do ONE simply task - install a “device” in your vehicle and keep it there. It’s easy. You do not even have to think about it and you can save 10% on your car insurance just for signing up. The next time you renew your insurance, you can potentially save 25% depending on “how safe you drive”.? Sounds like a great deal right? Well here’s what the insurance company and your broker may not have told you - this device collects data and tracks your driving habits. Data in our day and age is information and information is power.?
What does the device track? The device uses GPS technology to collect data on your location, distance traveled, accelerometer data (acceleration, deceleration, cornering, nighttime driving), hard braking, time of day driving, elapsed time of travel, road time, ignition on/off, and etc. Needless to say, the device collects a plethora of information about you.??
You will have access to this information and so will your insurance company. The question is, will this information ever be used against you to decline to issue, terminate or refuse to renew your insurance? What if you do not qualify as a “safe driver”? Or, if you are involved in a?motor vehicle accident, will this information be used to deny you coverage through your accident benefits insurer? Will this device make you a more conscious driver or will you constantly be worrying about maximizing your discount?
Another recent development is that some insurance companies are mandating putting a proprietary anti-theft tracker on your car to keep being insured and/or face higher premiums. There is an open debate as to who will pay for this, the insurance company or you. The insurance companies claim this is due to the high cost in theft payouts recently, over $1 billion that the whole industry paid out for theft related claims in 2022. A sceptic would question both the need and the justification for this. However, if your insurance company insists that you install an anti-theft tracker, here are some good questions to ask:
How will pay for the installation?
How much will the premiums be effected?
What data is the tracker collecting?
Is it anti-theft related data only, or regular driving data?
If it is only anti-theft data: when will the data begin to be collected? How will that be transmitted to the authorities?
If its regular driving data as well: how will that effect your premiums?
Are you ok with that data being monitored?
These are all really important factors to consider. Discounts are great, but just remember, they always come at a price.??
Our?Personal Injury Lawyers Ottawa, at LMS Lawyers, will certainly keep an eye out on how the program develops and how the insurance company uses the data. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to?contact us.
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