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If you have ever taken driver’s ed, then we are sure you remember an instructor being there in the passenger seat to give you props on your driving—and recommendations on how to get better. Well, think of telematics as your car telling you how you are doing, instead of your driver’s ed teacher.
A telematic program is when you install an app on your phone or plugin a device under your steering wheel to review your driving habits—braking behaviors, acceleration tendencies, daily mileage amounts, traffic trends, areas you visit, commuting schedules, phone usage, and the like. A telematic discount is the reward that you can get for your good driving score after your program ends. We have some carriers that give up to a 20% discount to good drivers who complete their program. Wouldn’t that be cool to be rewarded for what you are doing anyway? See below for how you can get your reward program started today.
Also, if you are a business owner and a good driving discount sounds great to you as well, ask us about a telematics program for your commercial policy! Our commercial department can be reached by phone at 425-320-4280, or by email at commercial@mosaicia.com. You can also read more about telematics programs for businesses here.
Which Carriers Participate in Telematics?
We write insurance with various carriers who participate in telematics. Below is a list of carriers we have worked with in the past who offer a telematics program. Please keep in mind that this is not a complete list and that insurance carriers are subject to change and many change guidelines at any time.
1. PEMCO Insurance
2. Progressive Insurance
3. Safeco Insurance
4. Travelers Insurance
5. Allstate
6. Nationwide Insurance
- Nationwide has a program that specifically is divided into two subcategories—SmartRide and SmartMiles. SmartRide is about your good driving score, and SmartMiles is about how many miles you are driving (see more about the low mileage discount, or Pay-Per-Mile, here). You can also see more about Nationwide’s programs in our blog post with a handy graphic.
What Makes Someone a Good Driver?
What do you have to do to qualify for a good driver discount? Good driving discounts are often called safe driving discounts for a reason. Carriers have factors like those below that decide what is good (safe) driving.
Some Other Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- How much money can you save using telematics?. We have some carriers that give up to a 20% discount to good drivers who complete their program. A 20% discount tends to save our clients around $400 yearly. It just depends on your good driving score, your carrier and their program, and how much you are currently paying for your coverage. For specifics on your situation, ask your Mosaic agent.
- How can you become a better driver and improve your score during the program? Most carriers have an analytics section on their app where you can review how you are doing and tips on how to improve. Also, as a general rule, review the things that determine a good driver and emulate them by being cautious and alert while you are driving.
- What if I do good, but not great? You can still get a discount if you are not perfect or close to perfect. Some insurance carriers have a grading system that will give you up to a certain percentage off. So, that means that you do not have to be 100% perfect to get a discount. However, we also want you to know before the fact that if clients do very poorly in the program, there is a chance of a coverage cost increase with some carriers. Most of our clients who try telematics do not have this happen. Call us and ask us about what your options are, and how things will work for you—we will not keep you in the dark when setting you up with the program.
- What if I am not driving but my phone app thinks I am? If you happen to have the telematics app instead of the device plugin, there are ways to tell the app that you are not driving while you are a passenger in someone else’s vehicle.
- Other than saving money, why do a telematics program? You can learn what you need to work on to help improve your driving skills. In turn, improving your driving skills can help you avoid accidents, tickets, and injuries to yourself, other drivers, pedestrians, and animals. Avoiding accidents and tickets can also help you avoid premium increases after you have a claim.
- Does everyone have to do the telematics program in my household? Most companies allow you to choose if you do or do not want more than one person to take the program. Please keep in mind that savings will be impacted if other drivers do not participate. Also, another thing to know is that if you have a teen driver and you decide that you want them to participate with you, this can be a great teaching tool to help them avoid injuries, accidents, and tickets. If you have a teenage driver, this can also be a way for you to see if your teen is using their phone while driving.
Learn More About Telematics in Our Blogs!
What are some other ways that you can save money on insurance?
- Bundle your home insurance and your auto insurance (also known as the bundle home & auto discount or the multipolicy discount).
- Anti-Theft Discount
- Good Student Discount
- Paid-In-Full Discount
- Automatic Payment Discount
- Electronic Delivery Discount
- Longevity Discount
More details on the list above for how your company can get “cheap insurance”:
How can you keep the same dependable commercial coverage for less money? You can decrease your commercial auto insurance premium and business owner’s property insurance premium by taking advantage of insurance discounts! So, instead of Googling “cheap car insurance,” or “cheap business insurance,” see what Mosaic has to say below about how you can save money.
- Bundling your home insurance and your auto insurance means that you are getting both auto coverage and homeowners/renters coverage with the same carrier. Many carriers like it when you do this, so they will offer you a discount, including Allstate, Progressive, Nationwide, and Travelers. Bundling insurance is fast and easy—just reach out to us for a new client appointment or ask your agent directly if you’re already a Mosaic Insurance client. While you are at it, also ask about an umbrella policy. An umbrella insurance policy gives you a substantially larger coverage amount for a minimal increase. This means that you can have higher coverage limits and you are less likely to have to pay out-of-pocket for a larger claim. Some of our carriers who we write umbrella insurance with are Progressive, Allstate, Safeco, Arrowhead, CNA, Encompass, Kemper, MetLife, PEMCO, and Travelers.
- Getting an anti-theft discount is achieved by having security cameras, alarms, and other theft deterring features on your home that your carriers like to see. Not all carriers offer this, but a vast majority do so don’t hesitate to ask if yours does!
- To qualify for a good student discount, you typically need to have a GPA of 3.0 or higher—ask us for carrier specifics.
- With a handful of our carriers, paying all of your car insurance premium in a single payment can result in a paid-in-full discount. Some of our carriers that have been known to offer this discount for our clients are Progressive, Allstate, and Travelers. Give us a call to learn more about this.
- We have some different carriers who offer Auto pay billing discounts, including Progressive, Liberty Mutual, and Safeco.
- Did you know that digital discounts were a thing in insurance? Some insurance carriers offer a discount just from simply going paperless (also known as the electronic delivery discount). You can switch bills to electronic delivery by visiting your insurance company’s website and going to your account settings. You can get contact information and website links to many of our carriers here. If you have any problems adding this service, you can ask your company’s support IM feature, or give them a call. You can also reach out to your Mosaic Insurance agent for guidance and to ensure that the discount has been applied to your account after you switch.
- Having the same carrier for a minimum of 3 years allows you to qualify for many carriers’ loyalty programs, resulting in a discount. Many carriers call it the longevity discount. Mosaic Insurance Alliance is a brokerage, so your agent can help you get another carrier, but in most cases, it makes sense to stay with the same carrier. Your agent will help YOU make that decision.
- You can view more ways that independent agents like us can save you money in our other blog post here.
If you have any questions, we are here! Contact us today.
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