Tracking How I Drive With An Automated Device — Will I Save on my Insurance Premium?
It does feel a little strange, like Big Brother is watching as I drive. But, then again, Allsate says I have the chance to save up to 30 percent on my auto insurance (which, for me, would be about $100 every six months) and it makes me more conscientious about my driving habits, which overall I think is a good thing. So I’m giving Drive Wise a test run for six months.
I found out about Drive Wise from my Allstate agent, when he called me just before my policy renewal. He told me that, yes, it would probably feel a bit intrusive at first, but I could give it a try and then return it at any time if I didn’t like using the device. He told me I’d save an automatic, one-time minimum 10% discount for trying this system.
The device arrived by FedEx and was easy to install. I now monitor my driving on the Drive Wise website, along with my projected discount. I’ll keep you up to date on my experience.
Please let me — and others — know what you think of using a device like this to save money in the “duel” comments below.
What Drive Wise Monitors
Here are the driving details monitored by the Drive Wise device. Not all of these things are counted toward or against your discount, and not all parameters are given equal weight towards that discount. But we, the drivers, don’t know the actual algorithm.
Hard and Extreme Braking
Hard and Extreme Acceleration (These are not yet used in calculating the savings, because Allstate is still evaluating the risk-predictive value of these events.)
Miles Driven Over 80mph
When You Drive — Days and Hours of the Day
Total Cumulative Miles Driven
Trip Time, Duration and Distance, and Speed
This is what the Drive Wise site says about the risk for various driving times on weekdays and weekends. When you log into your account, you’ll see charts showing you when you’ve been driving based on these time slots…
Weekdays:
High Risk 11pm – 4am
Moderate Risk 4am – 12pm
Low Risk 12pm – 11pm
Weekends:
High Risk 11pm – 5 am
Lowest Risk 5am – 11pm
Notes on the Discount and Hard/Extreme Braking:
Per the Drive Wise site: For your first full policy cycle, you’ll get a 10% enrollment discount on your “major insurance coverages.” (I now need to find out exactly what THAT means. I’d ASSUMED the discount was on my whole policy cost but apparently not.) After that, your discount — if any — will be calculated on a rolling basis, based on the previous 12 months (or 6 months when you begin) of driving.
As the program is currently set up, your performance rating cannot increase your premium, but your rating doesn’t guarantee you a discount either.
Regarding hard braking, the scoring model is said to take into account the fact that some hard braking is occasionally necessary, even for the very safest drivers. (For example, someone might pull out in front of you.) So you’re not supposed to be overly concerned with any one event recorded on your device.
The Drive Wise risk models are designed to look at “the big picture,” and they say that if your driving habits are generally safe, you’ll perform well over the long run. Likewise, if you or someone driving your vehicle could stand to leave a bigger space cushion between your car and others, the device is supposed to help you see that, and then you can monitor your progress.
If you have questions about Allstate’s Drive Wise program, you can contact them at (877)431-7670.
What My Auto Insurance Agent Didn’t Tell Me
I really like my agent and have known him for a long time. But he did neglect to tell me a couple of things about Drive Wise.
First, AFTER THE INITIAL TRIAL POLICY PERIOD, there’s a $10 fee for each 6 month policy period per enrolled vehicle, for the use of the device. So that cuts into any discount right there. IF one gets a discount at all (because it’s not guaranteed). That could mean paying $10 extra! (Update 3/2013: A comment was posted on this page by an Allstate agent in another state, telling us that this $10 is only charged in some states, not others.)
Also, the rules specify a minimum number of days that the device must be installed for you to earn a “Performance Rating.” Specifically, that’s 90 days over the course of the six-month renewal period. And there are no exceptions to this rule, even if your car breaks down or you’re in an accident and your car is out of commission for a while. If you fall short of the 90-day minimum, your Performance Rating will be 0%, and you won’t earn a discount for that policy cycle. (But you’ll still have the $10 fee. At least, I don’t see where it says you won’t.)
After getting my DriveWise device and reading the fine print, I spoke to my agent, and he said he didn’t know about the $10 fee (now apparently discontinued in some states) or the part about “major coverages” and wasn’t even sure what the latter means exactly. He said I’m the first one of his clients to use this thing. He asked me to keep him posted … which I will.
Installing the drive equipment wise
As my agent said, it’s really very easy to install the equipment. But he told me that if I have any trouble with it, I can go through and he wants to take care of it for me. I do not need any help at all.
There is a port on or under your control panel, where auto mechanics stick to a diagnostic device without motors. That’s where you put the drive Wise.
Just be careful not to hit it with your leg or foot when stepping into and out of the car, if the port is on the left just below the steering wheel and my like. I hit him once and knocked off the back cover. I was able to turn it back on and make sure the device has been installed properly still, but has the ability to break it, I would say.
Maximize saving your wisdom and drive
And a safe driving
Allstate……
Please give me enough time to find the place you want to go, and it is easy to drive.”
To eliminate the interference. (I would like to say that the use of mobile phones, while driving.)
They say, “the art of practice is not in the first place.”. At home?
Mileage management. I think this may mean that your travel plan, that is, the housework – so you drive a kilometer route is effective, at least
Management time. The first point that looks like me. This is the most dangerous time to drive, if you can avoid it
My drive with drive wise So Far
I will track my drive “event” here
I work at home, and on a daily basis, not usually the drive outside the small city of Flagstaff. So, the average daily mileage and relatively low speed. The exception is the road trip, usually no more than about three or four hours, one way, from the House.
The road trips usually involve driving on the highway, where the speed limit was as high as 75mph. Since the device screen for miles driven on 80mph, I hope there are some gaps in that category over time, since I occasionally speed up to pass a slower car driver or truck sell.
Here, I will continue to monitor any “event” the device profile:
12/29: an instance of the brakes hard in my first day with the installed equipment. I’ve gone over the speed limit and approach a green light. It has changed so quickly from green to yellow to red as I became so close, and I decided to brake hard and stop than go through the light when it turn red.
1/16: On a long weekend trip to Phoenix (a 2.5-hour drive), my husband did the driving and seems to have had 2 cases of braking hard. I was a passenger on the whole time, however, and I do not remember anything that I can think of that have such qualifications. I know the other driver sometimes redirected to our lanes or making a turn without signalling, and I will surely notice that we were arresting gear-we have arrived! -But “the hard drive well, cracking wise to say so.
1/12: A quick acceleration events are recorded from about a week ago. I don’t remember doing that, but it could have been when I pulled out into a traffic lane and needed to get up to speed pretty quickly. “The event”, however, is not included in the price of our wisdom drive, and I do not see that events are recorded to make any difference in me.
2/17: brake hard … so it says. I very carefully these days, I think I would have noticed. It is the device drive Wise is one of two super sensitive or lies.
2/27: brake hard … are you kidding me?! This was programmed to SAY you are all hard brake so frequently? I was extremely careful about this, and I have been on short drives today. I sure have a problem with the device.
4/3: well, the say equipment I have a total of nine events so far, with two hard brake events added since I last been updated here and a quick acceleration. I still have problems with some “hard braking” event (you may like to read some comments guestbook below the brake hard statistics about strange to DriveWise), but I still rebate at the rate of 24% for some time now.
4/10: now, it’s TOTAL BS! The Gizmo seems to think that I had a hard brake events yesterday, and I know I did not. Never once in my short trip to town and back do I step on brakes that in any way that would make it difficult. I never stop short or even near short. Now I’m convinced there was something fishy about the hard braking results. We will see what the percentage of discount I do in the next few days, but it was better not to go down. How untrue.
4/30: adding two events completely fake brake hard is (arguably) recorded two and three days ago. I know for sure that the equipment is calibrated properly or not too sensitive or not honest, safe driving sanction for slowing down to stop the lights turn yellow then red. I’ve noticed that when this happens, as I approached the lights or speed limits. I’m not hard braking when this happens. If I was close enough to light to hard braking requirements, I want to be able to legally and safely walk through the yellow light. I was trying to write to Allstate about this, but their contact form to continually say, “no special characters allowed” in the message when no. I am disappointed with this program, to say the least.
5/16: I thought my wisdom drive device is picking up data from other people’s cars. (Sarcasm) Now it shows an extreme braking event that I know has not happened. I look at the trip which is the “claim” includes this event, and it was a short, slow drive at about 5 am, when I am on the road from home to court Search & Rescue for a non-urgent calls. There is almost no other cars on the road and I was paying attention to my driving and I rolled to a stop for a red light. I barely have to touch the brakes. So, I went on the site and write a message to drive wise on bogus results.
Here is the answer I received:
“Thank you for writing to us. A hard brake events will feel different in different media, but in General, it came to a stop with enough force to pitch the car forward, if even just a little. A hard brake events triggered when the falling speed of at least 8 mph in one second.
The threshold for an extreme event the brakes is reduced speed of 10 mph or more in a second. For most cars of this type of event the brakes will activate the passenger restraint systems (momentarily locked seatbelt in position). It can also activate the anti lock brake system of car-although some extreme braking event is too short to do that “.
… That makes me even MORE firmly that NO extreme or hard braking occurred. Oh, but my rebate went down, and it’s not long before the renovation. How convenient. For Allstate.
Smart drive actually encourage unsafe driving?
I felt like wise encouraged drives running red lights. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but if I was driving at the same time or even slightly below the speed limit, and I approached the light goes from green to yellow to red very quickly – it seems to happen a lot around here – I have to make a decision to brake a little harder than normal or increased speed and passing a red light just after it turns. Slam on the brakes I my not to do it, but sometimes I have to slow down quite quickly. And each time that happens, Drive Wise recorded an “event” and reduce the cost of my plan. I’d be concerned that the installed Drive wisdom may be tempted to run through the light more often.
Clearly, Drive Wise can not detect someone talking on cell phones or texting while driving, or do other distracting things while behind the wheel, and those who are more risk habits dangerous than some hard braking. And, believe me, it does not seem to take much to drive to record wise braking.
One year later:
After all of the above, this may seem strange, but I have not had a hard braking event record for months. I do not know if that new car or driving another drive or what MY. However, my price will not go up in excess of 20%. The maximum is 30, but I guess, although I did not have the facts, I must be doing something wrong.
And a few months later: it turned out, my phone is clearly on the fritz. I keep getting emails from the program, told me there is no communication from them, thinking I gave the device off, but I did not. So they ended up sending me a new one, along with the postage to return the old ones … and now the new thing is hard braking event log, which I still do not think that is correct at all. But there goes my 20% discount.
Track the price of my car insurance.
This site shows percentage when it changes
I checked in the Drive and Google accounts, online prices, I will update my project direction and the accumulation of miles “event.” one day I accumulated to automatically extend my insurance in June 24th 12, because it is the first discount I will be completed.
December 2910% – Show discount registration
1 / 10 miles 24%:86,1 total control, event
1 / 1219%: strange. Why did my price drop by 5% for two days I had almost no direction, no “event”?
1 / 1612%: seven minutes after a long weekend drive to Phoenix – from Flagstaff – 2 of the cases, it is difficult to break, but never by 80mph, even in the highway speed limit is usually 75mph.
1 / – 19 5%: what! How do I do more than just a few miles away from Feinikesi and the incident? If I guarantee to give the 10% discount strategy the first stage to use these devices, it can be in the 10%? Well……
January 23 – 14%: go up, the more I drive the car, do not need any more events, the event of the device to write “dilute.”
1 / 17% – 30
2 / 1221%: an event has been added, but this is a “fast”, they do not want to say to you.
February 2324% – even an extra event broke
4 / 3 – 24%: no new reports. I said there were a total of nine acceleration events of seven brakings hard and hard.
April 3024% but wait to see if this will be reduced because these two events are considered untrue records
5 / 1621%
Wake up time 21% discount policy – but… Of course, there is no particular reason advanced facilities on my (which means that there are no accidents, complaints, or change for me) and discount only applies to “coverages”, so I finally ended in a few dollars less than my last update.
Total discount, my 23,00 dollars after the end of all this. So, 21%, when applied to “coverages big”, less than a lot.
More updates…
September 28th – 24% to participate in discount: I have a car, now a new, not a RAV4 corolla. What feels like a brake hard, now don’t register drivewise the same day. Do they have a satellite calibration device, or are the new heavier, this car?
10 / 1620% lower discount: I have no obvious reason, because I don’t have a new event, in a very long period of time, I call drivewise, and represent the “impossible”, because the road. As is meaningful, if I don’t have any more control than normal, I really can not open a lot, I work at home. I asked why, he said, he really can’t give me a “better” explanation I got close to the time for a new discount policy, and my mysterious drops.
6 / 20 (after 8 months): still at the level of 20%, where I is since my last update. Of course, this is a very good price, but I do not have a single event or other hard braking. So, I don’t know why I do not know is complete (max) 30% discount.
8 / 20 (after two months): at level 20%. There are no plugins to record events. No problem, I do or not do, it looks like they have a fixed 20% discount level.
Return the drive device Wise and Exit Program
I read on your website that f you drive wisely decided not to continue participating in the program, you can cancel anytime. We will update the information policy and adjust your premium, then give you instructions on returning the device for free for your Allstate.
YOU will use a device such as smart drive?
What do you think?
If it means that can save 30% on your car insurance, you will use smart drive or a similar device?