Telematics Insurance: How it could lower your auto insurance premium
- Coverage clarity
- Planning ahead
- Auto insurance
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VIU by HUB is always looking for ways to improve our customers’ car insurance experience. Lately, we’ve been getting a lot of questions about telematics insurance car insurance programs and we want to clear up some common misconceptions for those who might not be aware of these programs. What is telematics insurance? You might know it by one of its other names: usage-based insurance (UBI), pay as you drive, pay how you drive or mile-based insurance.
Whatever name you know it by, telematics help you save money on car insurance by giving you a truly personalized rate based on your driving usage or behavior.
Telematics insurance works by allowing your insurance company to track your driving, via app, Bluetooth or a plug-in device, and adjust your rates based on your personal driving data. You can qualify for discounts based on data showing that you travel few miles, are a safe driver or other programs. Car insurance companies use telematics because it’s a way for them to assess your individual risk. As a thank you for giving them this data, they might lower your rates – assuming they think your data looks good. A typical telematics based program works like this: your insurance company tells you what your auto insurance premium will be and offers a telematics device as a way to potentially earn a discount. Most companies using telematics will not penalize you or charge you more than the original stated premium regardless of what data they receive from the device.
There are two main types of telematics insurance:
There’s no harm, and possibly a lot of benefit, from using telematics for your auto insurance policy. Even if you drive a lot and usage-based insurance discounts are irrelevant, and even if you sometimes hit your brakes a little too hard, car insurance companies won’t penalize you for your driving behavior. If telematics programs are available to you in your area, they’re likely a good idea. The worst that could happen is that you lose your discount for that month.
Telematics programs aren’t right for everyone so it’s important to weigh the pros and cons before deciding for yourself.
Pros:
Cons:
