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I've used one of these devices in my car for the last couple of years and have enjoyed really cheap car insurance as a result (variable based on my driving but
by jdjb 12y ago
I've used one of these devices in my car for the last couple of years and have enjoyed really cheap car insurance as a result (variable based on my driving but usually $30-$35 CAD/month).
It is very true that if you are driving in rush hour traffic you have no choice but to appear to be a bad driver. The irony of this is that the accident happening in rush hour is probably minor, yet when I'm barrelling down the highway at a steady pace I appear to be a great driver whereas an accident would be very costly (fatal perhaps).
Also they normalize your infractions (sharp breaking, sharp acceleration, speeding, etc) by distance driven so long highway driving is even more beneficial (few infractions, long distances) than traffic jams (many infractions, short distances).
- TeMPOraL 12y agoInsurance companies have a strong financial incentive to have their models be well calibrated with reality, so you should expect it more and more with time that when an insurance company thinks you're a bad driver then it really means that your driving sucks.
- arjie 12y agoTrue, but they'll happily take 10 horrendous accidents over 1100 minor bumps if the bumps cost them a thousand each and the bad accidents cost them a hundred thousand each. Our incentives are different. We would rather have many tiny incidents (up to a limit) than a few life threatening incidents. Therefore, while an insurance company would happily put into place a process that turns a small number of drivers into maniacs and everyone else into placid sheep they'd take it. Not that they are, and it sounds unlikely that such a process can even exist, but it's important to know that our incentives aren't aligned.