Progressive Insurance Company has a new car insurance program called MyRate which allows drivers to opt-in to save money on their Progressive auto insurance bill.
When you sign up with MyRate, you receive a wireless transmitter which plugs into the diagnostic port of your car. The little device constantly transmits your driving habits and mileage to Progressive, and if you are in fact deemed a safe driver, then you may see savings of up to 60% off your car insurance.
But don’t think that you’ll be able to lie your way to lower auto insurance rates. Drivers who have questionable driving habits such as hard braking or fast acceleration will probably end up paying more for their insurance. The more miles you drive on a daily basis, the higher the liklihood that you’ll be involved in a car accident. Therefore, if you have a longer daily commute to work or if you drive odd hours of the day, you probably won’t qualify for the program.
Progressive MyRate is available in a handful of states currently, and you can see if your state is available by visiting Progressive.com’s MyRate page. The concept seems to be picking up steam with other companies, and is also generating opposition from privacy groups who see this as an invasive way to track personal driving data. Whether or not the MyRate program will be a long-term car insurance savings plan will be determined over the next couple of years.