How would you feel about letting your car insurance company ride along in your car every time you get behind the wheel?
Hundreds of thousands of drivers have already invited some auto insurance companies to ride along. Lured by the prospect of substantial discounts on their car insurance, these drivers are allowing the company to track their driving behavior through usage-based programs.
Are these programs really rewarding drivers for good or safe driving through? The insurance companies that offer usage-based tracking programs claim that these programs can save customers major money, but taking another look, these tools might not be right for everybody.
When usage-based driving trackers are installed in your car, they gather data about three things; miles driven, the time of day one drives, and braking patterns. This information can show insurance companies a lot about how customers drive, but it does not necessarily measure whether or not customers are a good driver.
The first thing these tools measure is miles driven. Most insurance companies recommend that drivers drive no more than 30 miles per day. Driving more than that makes someone a greater insurance risk. After all, the more you drive, the more likely you are to get into an accident.
The second thing these tools measure are driving times - or specifically, the times of day that you are driving. Drivers who are only on the road during rush hour are considering a higher insurance risk, while drivers who do their commuting during the middle of the day in non-peak traffic hours are lower risk and likely to be rewarded for good driving.
Last, driver tracking tools measure braking patterns in order to reward drivers who have few "hard brakes." Hard brakes are when your speed decreases more than 7pmh in a second. The problem with measuring brake patterns is that most braking is determined by road conditions, not by how safe of a driver you are.
Tools that measure your driving and report back to their insurance companies don't necessarily exist just to save their members money. Instead, they most usually reward drivers who are low-risk. Even if you are a good driver, if you have a long commute, live in an urban area and have to drive during rush hour, you won't end up qualifying for a discount.
Hundreds of thousands of drivers have already invited some auto insurance companies to ride along. Lured by the prospect of substantial discounts on their car insurance, these drivers are allowing the company to track their driving behavior through usage-based programs.
Are these programs really rewarding drivers for good or safe driving through? The insurance companies that offer usage-based tracking programs claim that these programs can save customers major money, but taking another look, these tools might not be right for everybody.
When usage-based driving trackers are installed in your car, they gather data about three things; miles driven, the time of day one drives, and braking patterns. This information can show insurance companies a lot about how customers drive, but it does not necessarily measure whether or not customers are a good driver.
The first thing these tools measure is miles driven. Most insurance companies recommend that drivers drive no more than 30 miles per day. Driving more than that makes someone a greater insurance risk. After all, the more you drive, the more likely you are to get into an accident.
The second thing these tools measure are driving times - or specifically, the times of day that you are driving. Drivers who are only on the road during rush hour are considering a higher insurance risk, while drivers who do their commuting during the middle of the day in non-peak traffic hours are lower risk and likely to be rewarded for good driving.
Last, driver tracking tools measure braking patterns in order to reward drivers who have few "hard brakes." Hard brakes are when your speed decreases more than 7pmh in a second. The problem with measuring brake patterns is that most braking is determined by road conditions, not by how safe of a driver you are.
Tools that measure your driving and report back to their insurance companies don't necessarily exist just to save their members money. Instead, they most usually reward drivers who are low-risk. Even if you are a good driver, if you have a long commute, live in an urban area and have to drive during rush hour, you won't end up qualifying for a discount.
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Keep all these things in mind before you swing your car door open and invite your insurance company to ride along in hopes of finding cheap Texas insurance. It's wise to do research on what exactly these programs include and offer before you decide to give one a try, otherwise, rather than declining rates, you could see your Texas auto insurance premiums rise.
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