Big Brother Style Bother or Money Saving Miracle?

There’s a new(ish) technology in town that could save you some money, but at what cost? Auto insurance companies are beginning to implement, on a voluntary basis, an in-vehicle monitoring system. The purpose of these systems is to keep track of your vehicle’s speed, acceleration, braking, and seat belt information. What does this mean to you? Well, in exchange for your safe, responsible driving you could save “up to 30% in as little as 30 days” according to Progressive.

These devices are small, plug into the OBD II port, and transmit information, wirelessly, back to the insurer. Based on what they learn, they may lower your premium. For instance, if you’re a responsible driver, don’t have a heavy foot, and drive less than the national average of 12,000 miles you’re in good shape. The transmitter, of course, is more reliable than the self-reporting system that is currently in place. Granted, most people are honest and report their auto use data correctly; but there is always the chance that an error in “guesstimation” can occur. Reporting to the insurance company how many miles you expect to drive in a year is innocent enough, but do you really even know how many miles you drove last week?

Progressive’s program, called Snapshot, has been in testing for a couple of years. In that time a quarter-million users have logged their driving habits electronically, totaling more than two billion miles of data. The program now monitors driving habits for 6 months. If, after that time, no erratic driving has been recorded the driver’s lowered rate can be locked in and the device returned to Progressive. Not a bad deal, right?

Now, the next – and most Big Brother like – issue is personal privacy. You’ve been thinking about it the entire time you’ve been reading this article. Admit it. Do you really want an electronic passenger telling “the man” that you gun the throttle, sometimes, when merging into traffic? Most of the transmitters, with the exception of State Farm’s OnStar powered system, don’t have the capability of collecting GPS information, which is a plus. But, the fact remains that electronic data can be compromised, hacked, or “misplaced”. Remember those lost government laptops from not so long ago?

The data from the Snapshot device will not be used to settle legal issues unless specifically requested by police, a subpoena, or other legal means. The issue here is this: to whom does the data belong? Sure, it’s your driving habits; but you’re on public roads, interacting with others, and using a device that belongs to your insurer.

So, what do you think? Are you willing to turn your driving habits over to your insurance company to save some money? Let us know in the comments section or on our facebook wall.