Submitted:
Dear Editor,
I wanted to share some information with your readers about a growing trend in car insurance: usage-based insurance programs that track driving habits through a mobile app.
What It Is
These programs use your phone to monitor behaviors such as braking, acceleration, cornering, phone usage, and more—no extra hardware needed. Once enrolled, the app logs your trips automatically.
How It Works
Drivers are scored on things like:
Hard braking and rapid acceleration
Sharp cornering
Distracted driving (phone in hand or handheld calls)
Patterns in speed, distance, routes, and time of day
You can then view your personal driving score, trip history, safety tips, and even get assistance if the app detects a possible accident.
What You Can Save
Safe drivers may qualify for discounts, often between 5%–15%, with some reports of savings up to 25%. However, in order to qualify, all drivers on a policy usually need to participate.
Pros and Cons
On the positive side, setup is easy, the app runs in the background, and it gives real-time coaching. Accident assistance is an added comfort, and there’s the potential for real savings.
On the downside, some drivers have reported the opposite effect—premiums going up if the app gives them poor scores. There are also frequent complaints about false flags, like recording safe stops in traffic as “hard braking,” or mistaking a passenger’s phone use as the driver’s. City drivers and night commuters are especially vulnerable to being penalized unfairly. The app can also use data and battery, and it isn’t available everywhere.
What Drivers Are Saying
Experiences vary widely. Some call it a great way to get rewarded for careful driving, while others warn it led to unexpected premium hikes.
Final Thoughts
These programs can certainly help encourage safer driving and may reward those with steady, cautious habits. But they aren’t perfect. Inaccuracies, city traffic realities, and data concerns mean they work best for those comfortable with being monitored and confident in their driving patterns.
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Never put this system into your car!! Insurance companies will give you a tiny discount if you drive perfectly, but will use every single thing you may do wrong to raise your rates. Stay far AWAY!
Goose says stay away from these so-called programs. Insurance companies aren’t your friends – they’ll hike your premiums the first chance they get, but rarely lower them. At best you save 15%, but you risk paying way more.
Gossage out!
Maybe if people around here drove properly then they would get the bigger discount. I’ve had this for a few years now and save over $400 per year. If you’re smart you do an online safe driving course, bundle your homeowners and car insurance, then add the app on top of it. My insurance is crazy low compared to many people I know. But the best thing you can do for yourself is get at least one dashcam. Not only do you cover yourself from the crazy Lakewood traffic, you also cover yourself from any false strikes that the ins company tries to claim when you use the app.
I wonder if it will track if you run stop signs and red lights which is an every day occurrence in Lakewood