Allstate Drive Wise

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Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Originally Posted By: Norm Olt
Oh, I forgot...


Baa, baa, BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

For all you sheep out there.


What an incredibly well thought out, intelligent comment.

/sarcasm


It certainly could have been buffered better, but when you look at the whole forest and not just 1 tree, that's exactly whats happening. Its an intelligent way of happy jacking people into willing giving the insurance companies reasons to raise their rates by offering a discount. All the consumer will see is the discount thinking that their driving isn't all that bad, and this device may be basic. But what happens when the 2nd, 3rd, 4th generation of these devices come out and now the insurance company knows what station you are listening to on the radio and at what volume? Then raise your rates because your listening to the radio at a volume that they feel would make you susceptible to an accident, or decide that the neighborhood that a friend or family member lives in makes your car a target for theft? Meanwhile your handing all of this information over to them on your own free will, and will not be able to argue when your rates skyrocket. Im not against them because Im a bad or unsafe driver, I just refuse to follow the flock, and do agree wholeheartedly with the comment you quoted. I may be a bit on the paranoid side right now, but I refuse tolube up my own **** for a raping.

My company installed those OBD port GPS devices. The information they gathered with those things was incredible. They would even read trouble codes. All of our company trucks are Ford 3/4 and 1 tons, and as each one went into the shop for service or repair the service dept pulled them out. On one 3/4 ton that hadnt been to the dealer yet, the battery kept dying, within a couple hours if it wasnt running. We pulled the GPS out and the pins were corroded to all get out. After we pulled it out, the batterys never drained unexplained again.
 
Originally Posted By: Scotty1981
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Thanks, but no thanks. All it takes is one emergency situation that calls for rapid braking or avoidance maneuver and you are toast, without fault of your own.

While they say they won't increase your rates during your current contract period, what is stopping them from increasing the rate upon renewal, or dropping you all together from the policy? NOTHING!!! In fact they have legitimate proof for doing so.



I'm pretty sure they would look at one instance and forgive that due to someone cutting you off etc. However, if you have 30 or 40 per week, then maybe you're following too closely or whatever.

General consensus on here seems to worry about them spying on you and one person seemed to think it wasn't a bad idea. I'm still on the fence but I'll give it a try. I feel like this is back when cell phones first starting getting GPS and everyone was refusing to get one so the government couldn't track them. I think the same argument came around when debit cards started popping up too.


We probably watch way too much NCIS and Law & Order. I don't think the virtually instantaneous real-time tracking and historical re-enactment of a cell phone location exists outside of Hollywood and, perhaps, Homeland Security.

If those boys & girls are watching it's probably not because of an evasive maneuver, hard braking or a jackrabbit start (or two). Probably not because you are an illegal alien, either? (Ooopppps! I forgot: I should now say an "undocumented immigrant")

Your debit card is your debit card. I bought gas yesterday but can't tell you offhand whether I was in Grays Harbor or Clackamas County on October 20th without looking at an appointment calendar or a bank statement. Maybe not even then. What am I trying to hide, anyway?

re: "Forgiveness" from my insurance carrier...

I'm long in posession of a letter from one of their VP's that states I will not have to ever worry about having my insurance "cancelled" due to our "long relationship".

That I also enjoy what they call "accident forgiveness", implying that my rates won't go up if I have a claim (and this, I believe, has to do with an "at fault" claim, vs. comprehensive, uninsured motorist, etc.).

After 40 years I suppose we probably deserve it.

Well, two multiple auto policies, a multiple motorcycle policy, two homeowner policies and a National Flood insurance policy just might have something to do with it, huh?

Cheers!
 
Received the DriveWise devices in the mail today, and have them installed it will take a few days of driving and I'll be able to check the updates online and see what they are reporting. I'll keep you all posted on how it goes.
 
There's too much big brothering going on these days as it is without plugging a device into my vehicle...no thanks....
 
I think my insurance company would be impressed with the capabilities of my vehicles! It's quite likely the forces recorded would be in the "top tier" for vehicle type
smile.gif


(I live 3 miles from the local track and visit regularly)

On another note, I wore a "Skip Barber Graduate" T-shirt to my remedial driver course. The instructor was not impressed...
 
I think the idea is well thought out. After all, everyone is paying the top insurance rate for their category. Sure, you can get various discounts for different (typically) non-driving related behaviors (good student, home-owner, over 25, etc.) However, a very decent driver who doesn't have aggressive driving habits will pay as much as someone who drives their vehicle like they stole it. In principal, a good idea.

I did the similar program through Progressive. I had it installed in my car before they were even advertising it. Since I tend to drive like a grandma and they probably wanted to hype this program I figured I should get some deep discounts. After six months I did get some decent discounts (right now it's supposedly $66 on a policy I pay $166 for which is ~28%).

The problem I have with it is that the first billing statement after I was to get these sweet discounts, my policy magically increased almost the same amount as my discount. I noted this on their customer survey for the Snapshot program. I got a call from them assuring me it was just a coincidence. I'm no conspiracy theorists but I'm skeptical on this one. And I really doubt that a large company would ever sell the massive amount of data that they have collected through a program like this. Right?

Clark
 
I wonder if you can disconnect it if you know, for example, that you're about to track the car (which wouldn't be insured anyway, so it's not their problem) or heading out to an OHV park where you plan on legally flooring it, sliding it, and making a mess.

M
 
They say you can disconnect it for short periods like if you were at the shop getting a repair done. Whether you were at the shop or track, they don't have to know.
 
I bet none of the companies using these "spy" devices can touch USAA's low premiums, and they don't even use the "spy" devices...I haven't found an insurance company yet that can compete with their rates....
 
Can I unplug the chip when I am driving during high risk hours (midnight)? Then plug it back in when I get home?
Thanks
 
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Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Thanks, but no thanks. All it takes is one emergency situation that calls for rapid braking or avoidance maneuver and you are toast, without fault of your own.

It doesn't work that way. One hard brake won't ruin your rates. They're looking for a pattern.

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
While they say they won't increase your rates during your current contract period, what is stopping them from increasing the rate upon renewal, or dropping you all together from the policy? NOTHING!!! In fact they have legitimate proof for doing so.

What's to stop them from doing that without the device?

It's really not that complicated. If your driving style is conducive to getting a discount, try the device. If your driving doesn't meet the parameters, don't do it.

People complain about big brother in their cars, but have no problem with Google and smart phones tracking everything they do.

Also, all new cars have blackboxs already installed. They record more info than an insurance device and there are very few laws governing who owns that data.
 
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