To track or not to track

Do you have car insurance tracking apps?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No

    Votes: 7 87.5%
  • Ham sammich

    Votes: 1 12.5%

  • Total voters
    8

CDGator

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To track or not to track...that is the question. Our 17 year old just got her drivers license (late because of covid) and the insurance company wants to add a tracking app for a BIG discount. We are opposed to those apps but the insurance discount sweetens the pot for having a kid on our policy.

Do you allow this app on your phones?
 

gator1946

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To track or not to track...that is the question. Our 17 year old just got her drivers license (late because of covid) and the insurance company wants to add a tracking app for a BIG discount. We are opposed to those apps but the insurance discount sweetens the pot for having a kid on our policy.

Do you allow this app on your phones?

Just for your new driver or everybody?

Opposed for a kid who's just got their license. I'm all in on tracking. Track me no thanks. Although tracking me would be disappointing. Little tracking pin wouldn't be moving far. Not for the next six months. After that it might not be moving at all. :lol:
 

Gatordiddy

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My mother in law did it for a while... it plugged in somewhere below the driver area, don't remember.
She's a very good driver so it helped her out discount-wise.

I'm not sure the insurance company will email you a message indicating your daughter is in a remote area of town with foggy windows. But my concern would be what if she did something 'stupid' ...would it cause a substantial increase? Or ...do her driving habits portend something bad might happen if she doesn't make adjustments?
Like listening to gangsta rap while driving or something like that?

Actuarial scientists are a devious bunch

Did they indicate what would be tracked?
 

CDGator

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Initially it is a few hundred off just for installing the app on her phone. I need to do more research such as how it knows she’s driving vs a passenger. The agent said she has the potential to earn a bigger discount based on her driving habits (brake and speed) however she could also lose the discount next year based off her habits too.
 
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heavychevy

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Sep 8, 2014
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From what I understand, it’s not a location tracker. It plugs into the vehicle computer and “tracks” acceleration rates, speeds, and braking forces.

I’ve put 10000 miles on my truck the last 4 years, when we moved we changed insurance and they said they were going to send us some for a discount but we never got them. My readout would be like an SOS on the calendar. 8 miles to the gym a few days a week, that’s about it.
 

CDGator

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So are you saying that you and/or seedy has a lead foot?

Maybe but that’s neither here nor there!

It’s an app only on her phone. It will send me a report. It doesn’t go on the car but on her phone. She can check off as a passenger or driver.

Safeco Right Track app
 

jdh5484

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Just for your new driver or everybody?

Opposed for a kid who's just got their license. I'm all in on tracking. Track me no thanks. Although tracking me would be disappointing. Little tracking pin wouldn't be moving far. Not for the next six months. After that it might not be moving at all. :lol:
They would use a sundial to track you.
 

jdh5484

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I had onstar the first few years I had my car. They offered the tracking. I got a monthly report (braking, speeds, acceleration etc) and each month they offered to send to several insurance companies for quotes. I declined.

I can see positives for a young driver. It gives you insight into ways to reinforce good driving habits. You guys can sit down and go over the reports and discuss each month.
 

BNAG8R

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From what I understand, it’s not a location tracker. It plugs into the vehicle computer and “tracks” acceleration rates, speeds, and braking forces.

I’ve put 10000 miles on my truck the last 4 years, when we moved we changed insurance and they said they were going to send us some for a discount but we never got them. My readout would be like an SOS on the calendar. 8 miles to the gym a few days a week, that’s about it.

There is a different one that I believe CD is referring to - it is an app that you install that uses GPS and the accelerometers on smartphones to measure speed, acceleration, etc. Basically it compares your app-measured speed against posted speed limits and flags when speeding more often than nothing.

What I found CD is that with the insurance we had, there was a minimum number of minutes driving per month that we never reached before any benefit was received. You might check into that first.
 

CDGator

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There is a different one that I believe CD is referring to - it is an app that you install that uses GPS and the accelerometers on smartphones to measure speed, acceleration, etc. Basically it compares your app-measured speed against posted speed limits and flags when speeding more often than nothing.

What I found CD is that with the insurance we had, there was a minimum number of minutes driving per month that we never reached before any benefit was received. You might check into that first.

Good to know. The kids will be doing school from home for a while so there won’t be a lot of travel time. She’s a real homebody. Maybe they can’t discount the policy for that reason. :lol:
 

grengadgy

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The evaluation period is 90 days, after which time, Safeco will send you a pre-paid package to mail back the device and then use the driving data gathered to determine your discount.
 

CDGator

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The evaluation period is 90 days, after which time, Safeco will send you a pre-paid package to mail back the device and then use the driving data gathered to determine your discount.

The agent said it’s a phone app.
 

grengadgy

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Safeco’s Right Track system uses a device that plugs into the vehicle, gathers information, and is then sent back to the company for review, and has no app. That is the traditional form of tracking that dates to the initial deployment of these programs and is a little on the outdated side when compared to similar programs from other companies.
 

CDGator

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Safeco’s Right Track system uses a device that plugs into the vehicle, gathers information, and is then sent back to the company for review, and has no app. That is the traditional form of tracking that dates to the initial deployment of these programs and is a little on the outdated side when compared to similar programs from other companies.

Edit:app not available in all states

Guess they use an app now instead of the device. All the instructions she sent were about how to download it and use it on her phone.

6201B59D-BA4A-4E49-B735-7382113FA7A7.jpeg
 
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CDGator

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BTW - horrible reviews on the app. They say it starts out great to keep you engaged then starts dropping your score so at the end of the 90 day period your credit isn’t as large.

It’s not available in all states either.
 

Blonde Gator

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I don't see any utility at all for this app after reading the whole thread, having met the child, and knowing she's probably going to drive differently in two vehicles. Sounds like a big, fat come on from the insurance peeps.

CD, you need to put your teenager hat on, and think like a kid. I think you'll get farther with her making her self-regulate her driving behavior using the guilt card, and "you'll never get to drive the preferred vehicle again if we catch you." I'd have been totally appalled and defiant if my folks put a tracker on me! (Although I probably needed one).
 

CDGator

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I don't see any utility at all for this app after reading the whole thread, having met the child, and knowing she's probably going to drive differently in two vehicles. Sounds like a big, fat come on from the insurance peeps.

CD, you need to put your teenager hat on, and think like a kid. I think you'll get farther with her making her self-regulate her driving behavior using the guilt card, and "you'll never get to drive the preferred vehicle again if we catch you." I'd have been totally appalled and defiant if my folks put a tracker on me! (Although I probably needed one).

she’s an excellent driver, maybe even too slow at times. I have to push her out the door to drive. Teenagers these days are weird about driving. I’m not so concerned about her but the boy is another story. :lol:

The app would purely be to save $$$!
 

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