12-05-2023, 02:25 AM
OK... first off, the police cannot access your phone (or your car) for data. That would take a court order and you have a right to not incriminate yourself.
Second, insurance companies are not using these devices to charge more. They are using them in the same way that they've used your past driving history, your credit, the kind of vehicle you drive, your marital status, your age, etc. -- to determine the risk level for you and the rest of the drivers on your policy so they can charge the appropriate premium for you. If you are a safe driver, you benefit from this "slicing and dicing" of the pool of insured drivers. If you're not a safe driver, then you are on the downside. Before the more sophisticated rating models, there was a much broader range of drivers in a particular risk pool. This means that the safe drivers paid considerably more relative to their risk level than the crappy drivers. Now, with the apps and other techniques and models, the "rate for risk" is much more accurate. Also, private passenger auto insurers have lost money on the line nearly every year for the last 15 years, with the exception of 2020 and 2021. The pandemic kept losses down in those years and the insurance carriers responded by providing rate relief during that time. When things began to normalize, they did so with a rapid increase in both frequency and severity of auto insurance losses. The result is that the industry paid about $1.10 in claim payments for every $1.00 collected in premium for 2022 and it looks like $1.15/$1.00 for 2023.
Third, none of the carriers I know of track for speed on the app. Most look at acceleration rate, braking rate, time of day (late night driving is distinctly more dangerous than the rest of the day), and very occasionally distance traveled. Now, the carriers I work with do not use the app to "pay per mile", but instead you sign up for a relatively short period of time (90 days is common) and your discount is based on your performance during that time. In addition, you can remove trackings where you were not driving or where you, say, were on your motorcycle and not in your car. I think that some of the pay per mile carriers might track for more things and are less lenient on removing certain trips from your record.
Lastly, your phone is already tracking you and your habits. At least this tracking app offers a reward to you for the effort.
This is all probably more information than any of you wanted, but I get my back up when folks complain that all insurance companies do is "extract milk and blood". None of you, at least in the US, could afford to own a vehicle of any kind if the insurance industry didn't exist. Are you prepared to lose everything you ever earned and hope to earn because you didn't see that kid step into the street? I doubt it. I don't like paying my insurance premiums either, especially in this time of dramatically increasing rates (something I can explain at another time), but I know that for a relatively small amount of money I can convert what otherwise would be considered risky behavior into daily routines.
Second, insurance companies are not using these devices to charge more. They are using them in the same way that they've used your past driving history, your credit, the kind of vehicle you drive, your marital status, your age, etc. -- to determine the risk level for you and the rest of the drivers on your policy so they can charge the appropriate premium for you. If you are a safe driver, you benefit from this "slicing and dicing" of the pool of insured drivers. If you're not a safe driver, then you are on the downside. Before the more sophisticated rating models, there was a much broader range of drivers in a particular risk pool. This means that the safe drivers paid considerably more relative to their risk level than the crappy drivers. Now, with the apps and other techniques and models, the "rate for risk" is much more accurate. Also, private passenger auto insurers have lost money on the line nearly every year for the last 15 years, with the exception of 2020 and 2021. The pandemic kept losses down in those years and the insurance carriers responded by providing rate relief during that time. When things began to normalize, they did so with a rapid increase in both frequency and severity of auto insurance losses. The result is that the industry paid about $1.10 in claim payments for every $1.00 collected in premium for 2022 and it looks like $1.15/$1.00 for 2023.
Third, none of the carriers I know of track for speed on the app. Most look at acceleration rate, braking rate, time of day (late night driving is distinctly more dangerous than the rest of the day), and very occasionally distance traveled. Now, the carriers I work with do not use the app to "pay per mile", but instead you sign up for a relatively short period of time (90 days is common) and your discount is based on your performance during that time. In addition, you can remove trackings where you were not driving or where you, say, were on your motorcycle and not in your car. I think that some of the pay per mile carriers might track for more things and are less lenient on removing certain trips from your record.
Lastly, your phone is already tracking you and your habits. At least this tracking app offers a reward to you for the effort.
This is all probably more information than any of you wanted, but I get my back up when folks complain that all insurance companies do is "extract milk and blood". None of you, at least in the US, could afford to own a vehicle of any kind if the insurance industry didn't exist. Are you prepared to lose everything you ever earned and hope to earn because you didn't see that kid step into the street? I doubt it. I don't like paying my insurance premiums either, especially in this time of dramatically increasing rates (something I can explain at another time), but I know that for a relatively small amount of money I can convert what otherwise would be considered risky behavior into daily routines.