Slashdot Mirror
Insurance Companies Try Out Auto Black Boxes
tekiegreg writes "It looks like the first black box test for auto insurance companies is underway. While this may be a privacy issue, it can also make better drivers out of everyone if insurance rates are adjustable based on the way everyone drives. This was covered on Slashdot before however this seems to be one of the first workups, that can even include tests on speed and braking, not just location."
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/10/16 49252&tid=158&tid=126
/. subscription. This exact same insurance company and program has been covered before (past 30 days).
This is why I didn't renew my
Most new cars already already have a black box. It records things like acceleration level, braking inputs and vehicle speed.
So far as I know, it only holds data for a short time, but if you are involved in an accident, the data can (and has been) accessed by law enforcement.
something to think about?
http://request-header.info
In New Jersey, we have New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance. They give back a "dividend" at the end of the year of unused money, so to speak. I always get a couple hundred back.
If you want cooperative insurance, in the real sense of the word "co-op," there's NJ CURE, which stands for something that has the words "reciprocal exchange" in it. It's like a credit union for car insurance...the policyholders own the company, which is a non-profit group.
In NJ, you need your head examined if you don't get your car insurance through one of these two companies.
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
He didn't say it did.
State Farm is the largest insurance company in the country with something like 15 million policy holders. I worked for a company that wasn't even half as big, and they didn't do up-to-the-minute underwriting. In fact, they can't - your policy is a contract that, barring certain exceptions, can't be cancelled or changed until renewal.
When an insurance company is losing money, they tighten up the underwriting and raise the rates. The bottom line is that any claim is an instance where they had to pay money to you - that's what insurance is for, but obviously the company is going to prefer customers that don't file claims, or file less claims. In hard times, the definiton of "less claims" gets much stricter.
They didn't "screw" you any more than you'd be "screwing" them if you chose to take your business elsewhere. Insurance companies have the choice (within set guidelines) to do business with a customer or not.
I am no longer an active insurance man. Even when I was, I'd recommend all family and friends to rate-shop at least once a year, if not every six months. The reason is because while State Farm could be having bad times in one area, Progressive could be having a favorable claims climate and GEICO could be doing even better, or maybe there's some local upstart agent with a lot of cash in the bank trying to build a book of business. The principle of insurance is the exact opposite of that of the stock market, but the fundamentals are the same - know the strength of your company and factors that affect it. If your company is in the red for a quarter or a year, it's probably a good sign that rate increases or tigher underwriting coming soon.