New Auto Policy: Dash Cam Insurance Policy?

New Technology Means New Approaches To Insurance Policies

By: Jason Mitchel @DiscountDashCam / April 5th, 2018 // Discount Dash Cam

Dash Cam Insurance Policy?

What is a Dash Cam? We’re talking about a small camera that is mounted to the windshield or in some cases the dashboard of your car and records your driving habits as well as the habits of anyone in the view of your camera.

Why would any auto insurance firm want us to use these devices? In short, they recognize that “industry standards” aren’t as accurate as using real data from individual performances, so a dashboard camera gives them a chance to determine your car insurance premium based on your actual driving habits.

What is the biggest benefit to using dashboard cameras?

Have a chance to be quoted an insurance premium based upon on your actual driving, rather than how industry statistics suggest may be one of the largest benefits. Decent drivers can expect to receive up to 30% off of their monthly car insurance premiums. Another great reason to buying a dashboard camera is that it can protect you from insurance fraud or from false testimonies in court cases that resulted from auto accidents. Data from any camera makes it a great supporting piece of evidence should you ever need to protect yourself from false claims.

If you are a parent of a teenager who has just got their driver’s license, a driver dash camera can be installed to keep an eye on your teen’s driving behaviors (or their location). A few of the more remote cameras can be turned on remotely via a smartphone app to add and extra layer of security. These cameras are also a super low-cost alternative to anti-theft devices such as Lo-jack. A few of them are motion-sensing even when the car is off.

There are a few discount programs in the US. The Progressive Snapshot program is one of the ones getting the most marketing attention at the moment. This offering is being pitched to all drivers, but those who stand to benefit are drivers between the ages of 16 to 21 and senior citizens because the device shows the insurance firm that the individual driver is safer than their statistics may suggest. Obviously there is always a catch, if your driving proves to be worse than the common driver for your demographic (age, city, experience and past driving history), then your rates can (and will) go up significantly. It’s a bit of a gamble, but if you know that you are a decent driver then the benefits are worth the added effort.

These programs are still new in a lot of markets and not all auto insurance providers are offering dashboard camera discounts or driver monitoring insurance discounts. However, if these programs take off, we can expect more insurers will pick up the trend. Already State Farm has added a similar program to their insurance offerings. // Discount Dash Cam