Insurance Co Spy

[widebody911]

Breaking this out from the F*ck Progressive thread

Progressive Snapshot hardware details revealed - SlashGear

The Progressive Corporation — MyRate Terms & Conditions

Insurance Technology - Snapshot from Progressive Insurance Uses AT&T's Network

They say it's to earn discounts, but there's nothing keeping them from using the data to raise rates or drop you.

What would keep an insurance company from making these mandatory?

How else will they use the data? Companies always claim data won't be shared, but that can change in a hearbeat.

Can the data be subpoenaed?

They claim it doesn't track speed or GPS data, but the technologies to do so are already cheap and easy to implement. Since it uses cellular to transmit the data, it probably already collects the GPS data.

[cashflyer]

The snapshot hardware is a little box that you plug into the OBDII port under your steering wheel on your car.

Won't work on any of my cars, as mine are all pre-OBD.
They're discriminating against me.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by widebody911

Breaking this out from the F*ck Progressive thread

Progressive Snapshot hardware details revealed - SlashGear

The Progressive Corporation — MyRate Terms & Conditions

Insurance Technology - Snapshot from Progressive Insurance Uses AT&T's Network

They say it's to earn discounts, but there's nothing keeping them from using the data to raise rates or drop you.

What would keep an insurance company from making these mandatory?

How else will they use the data? Companies always claim data won't be shared, but that can change in a hearbeat.

Can the data be subpoenaed?

They claim it doesn't track speed or GPS data, but the technologies to do so are already cheap and easy to implement. Since it uses cellular to transmit the data, it probably already collects the GPS data.

The ODB-II speed data is more accurate than the speedometer (guage), at least in my BMW. The real time speed data matches the speed data from my GPS.

I will not allow a facist piece of crap like that in my car. I'd switch companies first.

[Rick Lee]

Can't I go over the speed limit when on the track? What's wrong with that?

[porsche4life]

They know you are at the track and drop your ass like a hot potato...

[pksystems]

I wonder if I can use my OBDII computer hookup/software to change everything for maximum discount? I noticed they were advertising it could reset the digital odometers in newer cars (I have analog so I couldn't test)

[teenerted1]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

They know you are at the track and drop your ass like a hot potato...

no they just wont cover what happens there

[Rick Lee]

USAA dropped my SC for even asking about track coverage and I had special track insurance at the time anyway. They were total jerks about it. I had to get Leland West just to drive to and from the track.

[Esel Mann]

Firstly, Flo is pretty hot no???? I always ask the wife when the commercial comes on, if I doink Flo would I save on my car insurance? Wife says maybe but if I doink Flo I need to make sure the wife saves on car insurance too.

Ok.... This is the first time hearing about the product. They haven't sent me any details about it thus far so I don't know too much about it. But if it sits in line and gets its info from OBD-II, sounds like it's begging to be hacked one way or another. Just sayin.

On the surface it's a neat idea. Insurance is all about risk. Why pay more if you are if you are low risk? For example, let's say you primarily use your car during non-peak hours to drive to the pub, or pick up a ho, or get your next hit. All this within 1-3 miles of your home, well you'd be low risk and save a pant-load. But let's say you instead use your car to drive back and forth to/from gainful employment. Naturally this is during peak hours because well there are a lot of other gainfully employed people too. Well that's high risk.

Regressive, being the marketing masters they are will guise this as helping the consumer, all the while it increases profits for them. Gosh I love MBAs.

I've been a customer of Regressive for several years. Until last year, their prices were far lower than any of the other hooligans. But for the last two statements, they seem to be jacking up their prices so that they are coming awful close to the other hooligans. I guess the business of insuring drivers with prior driving experience consisting of (in no particular order): riding the bus, riding a donkey, riding a bicycle, or wearing out a pair of sneakers is too great to pass up.

[dondarnell]

Flo not hot. Flo weird.

[TimT]

If these thing become common...How long do you think it will take the aftermarket to build a work-a-round?

My daily driver is a '08 WRX.. if any add on dongle etc hangs below the dash, it will be "dislodged" every time I enter my vehicle..

Or wrap the thing in lead foil or those EZ pass bags..prevent the rfid from being read..

I wonder who makes these and what the storage capacity is? How much data until it overwrites old data?

[Joe Bob]

I wouldn't do Flo with French Guys wanker.....

[LWJ]

Flo gives me the creeps.

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by TimT

=
Or wrap the thing in lead foil or those EZ pass bags..prevent the rfid from being read..

That won't work; it will just store the data until it gets a signal.

[Scuba Steve]

Originally Posted by LWJ

Flo gives me the creeps.

Seconded. And if my carrier required something like that I'd switch immediately.

I already have to find insurance over here because of the move... not looking forward to how that'll go because I'm sure it's a giant pain.

[m21sniper]

I'm not into Flo either. Very weird character.

[cashflyer]

Re: Flo


She (the actress) also appeared as Marge on Mad Men

[GH85Carrera]

I can see the value of that gadget for some drivers. My MIL will never ever be out late at night. She drives very carefully. She has an even better system of driving monitoring. Her agent lives in her neighborhood, and has known my MIL almost all his life since she was his 1st grade, and 9th grade teacher. They live in a small town and go to the same church. When some dork ran into my MIL's car in a parking lot and messed up the bumper the agent took care of everything like he was doing it for his own mother.

[john70t]

There are many other factors in a safe driving environment:
1). Drivers education standards.
For new drivers here in the US, it is a simple cheap test that can be repeated after a few minutes running around town.
Driving simulators are cheap, and will prepare students for all possibilities such as kids running out between cars/fast blinkerless merges/checking crosstraffic/maintaining distance and speed/etc...

2). Speed limits and road designs.
a). In my city, there is a section of curved downhill freeway where one lane of our entire outgoing north-bound traffic merges uphill into an off-ramp. In rush hour it is a mess. The speed limit used to be 55mph but they actually raised it to 65mph. Dangerous. And people still drive through there at 80mph.
There was a local lawsuit to raise the speed limits on some roads.

b). Light timing is everything. It pisses me off to accellerate normally and go the speed limit only to catch every single red light. They are all timed for 10-15mph over the posted limit.

c). Road signs in many states simply suck. Major freeway interchanges are marked at the split in Florida and simply unmarked in Chicago and Ohio.

Distractions
Automakers are selling all kinds of more crap with vehicles. GPS, Bluetooth, etc. No easy solution to differientiate from a passenger.

Agressive driving
If there is no mechanical/evironmental reason for rear ending another vehicle, then it should be a mandatory 1 year suspension and complete repayment of repairs.
Put the fear and consequenses back into safe driving.

This Orwellian solution is only a band aid.

[widebody911]

Looks like a guy in drag