Drivers let Big Brother in to get a break let insurance companies monitor their driving via new technology in exchange for lower rates.

From : dickbushphucked

Q: drivers let big brother in to get a break by kevin maney usa today/august 8 2004 in two new tests car owners will be able to let insurance companies monitor their driving via new technology in exchange for lower rates. the technology will track some combination of when where how far and how fast they drive giving insurers a way to reward low-risk driving. now just experiments the technology might be a glimpse of the future of car insurance. the trials will begin this year • progressive will announce its tripsense trial in minnesota on aug. 24. customers who sign up will get a device the size of a tic tac box to plug into their cars. the device will track speed and how many miles are driven at what times of day. every few months customers would unplug the device from the car plug it into a computer download the data and send it to progressive. depending on results discounts will range from 5% to 25%. • in great britain major insurer norwich union will start its pay as you drive test in a few weeks. volunteers will get a device the size of a palm computer installed in their cars. the gadget will use global positioning satellite technology to track where the car goes constantly sending information to norwich union wirelessly. cars that spend more time in safer areas will qualify for bigger discounts. in 2001 progressive abandoned a test of a system similar to norwich unions because of high costs and privacy concerns. people were being tracked and to some it seemed like a big brotherish thing to do says progressive executive dave huber. progressives new test is an attempt to give customers more control. after signing up a car owner will get the device and software in the mail. the customer would then plug the device into the on-board diagnostic port under the dashboard. the port is on all models sold in the usa since 1996. through the port the device constantly tracks car speed. by comparing that with a clock in the tripsense device the device figures how far the car goes mapping it against the time of day. at the end of each policy term the customer would download the data and see what discount he or she would get. customers can see all their data before deciding to send it to progressive and can decide not to send it — and not get extra discounts. in minnesota where the highway speed limit is 70 mph drivers who go over 75 less than 0.1% of the time get an extra 5% discount. drivers who avoid the most dangerous times — midnight to 4 a.m. on weekends — get bigger discounts than those who dont. other insurers will watch the tests closely. its still experimental says julie rochman of the american insurance association. a lot more research needs to be done but these certainly are issues that are interesting from an insurance and safety perspective. were interested to see if the program could cause people to become safer drivers — perhaps by trying to stay under 75 to qualify for discounts huber says. .

Replies:

From : jacob suter

nothing new... and by their standards the old man down the road that never pushed his accelerator down in his whole fucking life my road is a 55 he did 30 at best who ended up pulling out let off the brake in front of a log truck moving 75 mph turning into a firey mess with his two grandkids onboard. this man would have qualified for a maximum insurance break under this criteria. i qualify to purchase his vacant house and pay higher insurance... js dick+bush=phucked wrote drivers let big brother in to get a break .

From : thadriver

nothing new... and by their standards the old man down the road that never pushed his accelerator down in his whole fucking life my road is a 55 he did 30 at best who ended up pulling out let off the brake in front of a log truck moving 75 mph turning into a firey mess with his two grandkids onboard. this man would have qualified for a maximum insurance break under this criteria. i qualify to purchase his vacant house and pay higher insurance... ************* exactly. and those drivers who *actually* fall in a less-risk category will be paying *more* for insurance. theyll take the data & use it to claim that if you *dont* allow the device or dont report the data then youre a higher risk & will charge you more. i *know* how the insurance cartel works. we had a driver like that in my community when i was a kid. one day i actually passed him on my mini-bike 5hp brigs & stratton stopped at a dirt road & cut circles untill he finally came by pulled out & passed him again. this on a state highway. i thought it was pretty funny. paul aka tha driver giggle cream - it makes dessert *funny*! .