- Car Accidents
Are you looking for ways to cut down your car insurance expenses, while also maybe getting ahead and collecting evidence for future accidents? Many people are questioning whether car insurance trackers are actually worth it. They could be, except some people are uncomfortable with the invasion of privacy and possible constant reporting to insurance providers. Contrans trackers have a surprisingly long history, and most drivers are told that they’re the best way to save on car insurance premiums.
Car insurance premiums set aside, these trackers may serve another purpose. They track speed, along with other often non-disclosed, details about your driving habits. Those driving habits could be used against you. But wait, why would your car insurance provider want to prove that you’re a bad driver? It always comes down to insurance companies not wanting to payout. If you are having issues with an insurance company challenging your claim contact our Fayetteville car accident lawyers.
Telematics Devices
Way back in 1998, Progressive became the first major insurance provider to offer drive and save programs. It’s pretty surprising because these programs are rampant now because they use mobile devices and other things that are already in your vehicle. Now you can turn to State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Allstate, and still Progressive for telematics or driver tracking programs.
The old programs required that you install a physical device or a plug-in that would track your vehicle’s rate of travel and location. GPS tracking made many people suspicious. However, those old programs quickly became outdated, and now insurance providers use smartphones. With DriveWise by Allstate and Snapshot from Progressive, these apps use your phone to collect a wide variety of data.
The big obstacle that comes up for car insurance providers with telematics devices or apps is the line of privacy. The vast majority of apps on your phone are actively collecting data and often, data that is not necessary for apps to function as normal. So it isn’t unreasonable to expect that an app from your car insurance provider would capture much more data than it needs to prove that you’re a safe driver.
Will You Get Lower Rates?
Pew research says that the answer to this question is, “No.” They conducted a survey and interviewed a wide variety of people with different histories of driving, and different years spent behind the wheel. They asked them about whether it was acceptable to expect auto insurance discounts in exchange for monitoring. 37% responded that the discount and monitoring would be acceptable. 45% said it was not acceptable, and the remaining 16% that it would depend on what type of data they collected about your driving habits.
Now, researchers asked the participants who had used these devices about their experiences. One said that they were a good driver, and didn’t drive very much, to begin with. Still, they did not receive a discount. Another driver noted that their rates went up by 30% after using the monitoring device, and the insurance provider offered no explanation as to why. One driver acknowledged that they’re here, and the total discount was $1.
Can You Use This in Your Car Crash Evidence?
Usually, car tracking devices aren’t exceptionally useful for crash evidence. However, they may be able to prove what rate of travel you were moving at, and your location. If you go to file an insurance claim through liability insurance, for another driver, then this evidence could help prove that you were not at fault. For example, if the other driver claims that you were speeding, the tracking device may be able to show that the speed cataloged on the device does not match the speed claimed by the other driver.
Support from Car Insurance Providers? Probably Not, Call A Georgia Car Accident Lawyer
The idea is that car insurance providers want to reward you for your safe driving. However, The rewards are little for you, but big for car insurance providers. So what can you expect from your insurance provider? Not much. Car insurance providers genuinely are of very little help to drivers. Instead, turn to a Fayetteville personal injury attorney that will sort through the evidence and help construct a strong claim for reasonable compensation.
At Wade law, we put our efforts into making the process easy. Although we wish that car insurance claims could be as easy as installing an app on your phone, they certainly don’t have to be difficult. Instead of waiting for weeks for your insurance provider to make a decision, take a step in the right direction, and get aggressive with submitting your evidence and pursuing settlement negotiations. Call Waze law.