Progressive Snapshot – Is Big Brother Watching You?

Unless you’ve been under a rock recently, you’ve probably seen Progressive’s new marketing campaign advertising their new Snapshot device.

The Progressive Snapshot is a small digital device that plugs into the diagnostic port on most 1995 and newer vehicles. By using Snapshot, Progressive claims you can save up to 30% off your car insurance rates.

Initially, saving 30% off your car insurance premiums sounds pretty darn good. I mean who likes paying for something you most likely won’t even use? But after the lure of all that extra cash in your pocket fades, do you really want your car insurance company monitoring how you drive?

Progressive claims Snapshot does not monitor your speed and contain no GPS receiver. Snapshot has to transmit information back to Progressive, and it does this after you turn off power to your vehicle. Snapshot has to have cellular capabilities in order to transmit information, and we all know that your location and speed can be determined through triangulation from cell phone towers, as that is how 911 services can determine your location when you call via your cell phone. So even though the device may not have GPS, it is theoretically possible to determine both your location AND rate of speed at any time.

Progressive does state that the device detects hard braking, so it obviously contains hardware to detect G-forces. It also has the ability to detect excessive acceleration. So if you have a tendancy to jump off the line and brake hard at a stop light, Snapshot probably isn’t the device for you.

Snapshot detects the time you drive, and the distance traveled. Progressive states that if you drive between midnight and 4 a.m., or if you drive an excessive number of miles, Snapshot will not give you the most benefit.

So your insurance company knows how far your drive, what time you drive, your tendancies to brake carelessly or accelerate too fast, and even possibly where you drive? I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I want my car insurance company to know all that information.

Can Progressive use this information against you at claim time? Can law enforcement use this information against you in court? Those are questions that will surely be sorted out through the legal system.

But now let’s look at the flip side of having the Snapshot device in your car.  If you know that your braking is monitored, you’ll probably start braking earlier. The device actually makes a beep if your braking is excessive (7 mph or more speed reduction per second).

If you know that your mileage is being watched, you might have a tendancy to consolidate trips. A nice side effect being gas savings for driving less miles.

Having Snapshot constantly monitoring my driving habits would definitely tend to make me think more about how I drive. And maybe the psychological aspect of the device is not necessarily a bad thing.  Making your teen driver realize that they are “being watched” might just be what they need to control their reckless tendancies.

Progressive’s Snapshot is a unique attempt to lower car insurance rates and for some people it will definitely save them some money. But if you’re just a really poor driver by nature, Snapshot probably isn’t going to be your friend. Your rates won’t go up from using Snapshot, but they sure won’t go down if you have a habit of leaving tire tread on the pavement or driving to the Quickee Mart at three in the morning.

I’ve had Progressive insurance in the past and had good claim service and I know firsthand that their car insurance rates are reasonable. But I don’t know if I could allow Snapshot to constantly monitor my driving regardless of the savings.  I think I would be paranoid about every aspect of my driving and my kids would constantly berate me for my Snapshot-induced granny-like starts and stops.

Snapshot definitely has possibilities, but knowing that some states don’t allow it make me question whether the privacy issues are insurmountable. Or maybe Progressive Snapshot is the wave of the future in car insurance. Only time will tell.