Survey: Drivers Trade Privacy for Car Insurance Discounts

According to a recent survey conducted by CarInsurance.com, some drivers are willing to trade the majority of their privacy for car insurance discounts. The survey involved 500 licensed adults, and two-thirds of whom were found to agree with the installation of a breathalyzer in their vehicle if it would produce a discount as a result.

“Insurance companies are already dabbling with these technologies. But clearly they could push the envelope even further than they are now,” said Des Toups, CarInsurance.com managing editor in a recent interview. Currently, there are no discounts for breathalyzers, speed governors, in-car cameras, or cell phone disabling devices.

Recently, insurance companies have started introducing pay-as-you-drive plans that offer substantial discounts when devices that monitor driving habits are installed. In the survey, drivers would do the following for a discount:

• 64 percent would install a breathalyzer
• 39 percent would install a data-monitoring device
• 37 percent would install a cell phone disabling device
• 28 percent would let insurance companies limit how fast their car can go
• 27 percent would severely restrict their driving miles
• 24 percent would severely restrict when they drive
• 20 percent would install an observation camera

In the survey, drivers were also asked about discounts for safety systems. “Of course, a driving record that doesn’t have a DUI or speeding ticket on it will mean cheaper insurance rates,” commented Toups. Of the drivers surveyed, 80 percent said collision-avoidance systems would result in a discount, 70 percent said anti-lock brakes would result in a discount, and 31 percent said voice-operated controls for navigation, phone, and email would result in a discount.

Of the above mentioned safety features, only anti-lock brakes normally incur a discount. Discounts usually stem from demographic features like education, marriage, military service, and profession. For more information on car discounts go to http://www.carinsurance.com/car-insurance-discounts.aspx.

Source: CarInsurance.com