State Farm's Drive Safe & Save's main selling point is that your car insurance premiums could be trimmed.
State Farm claims the car insurance discount could be as much as 50% for the safest motorists who don't drive much.
Drive Safe & Save: How it works
State Farm customers can choose one of several ways to participate in the Drive Safe & Save program.
The first is through a device called In-Drive that plugs into your vehicle's diagnostic (OBDII) port near the steering wheel. In addition to mileage, In-Drive tracks when you drive, how fast you accelerate and turn and how hard you brake.
The second is for customers whose cars come equipped with telematics-based subscription services, such as OnStar and SYNC. State Farm receives odometer readings from those services every 30 days after you enroll and, after six months, adjusts your premium to reflect the mileage. Driving patterns are not monitored under these plans.
Drivers in California have the option of self-reporting their mileage, and in Ohio, drivers can use their smartphones and the car’s Bluetooth system to send in the information
State Farm says you get an immediate 5% discount on your rates for participating in Drive Safe & Save. Also, according to the company, another 25% could be trimmed if you don't go above the national average of 12,000 miles a year. More small discounts may be tallied if you prove to be a safe motorist, don't drive over 80 mph and avoid driving between midnight and 4 a.m. With the OnStar and Sync plans, your discount of up to 50% is calculated just on your mileage.
Drive Safe & Save: Free, but your rate may increase
Enrollment for In-Drive is free. However, State Farm warns that some drivers already getting a low-mileage discount may see a rate hike.
"If you currently receive a premium reduction for low estimated annual mileage (under 7,500 miles annually for personal use) and your vehicle is actually driven more than that, your premium may increase at a future policy renewal period. Drive Safe & Save is always a discount if compared to a similarly rated policy without Drive Safe & Save," states the company website.
The insurer adds that customers can track their performance, and the progress of discounts, at State Farm's website. Other companies with PAYD, including Progressive, offer similar access at their websites.
If you don't have an OnStar subscription but want to take that route with Drive Safe & Save, you can buy plans from OnStar for $34.99/month or $349.90/year. The basic plan includes one-touch emergency response, roadside assistance, vehicle diagnostics alerts and maintenance reminders, while the more costly subscription adds other features like navigational guidance and 30 minutes of hands-free calls a month.
A look at the broader pay-as-you-drive insurance landscape
Beyond State Farm's In-Drive/Safe & Save and Progressive's Snapshot, several insurers also offer PAYD. Keep in mind that each company's product isn't available in every state. Also, now some companies offer PAYD through smartphone apps in addition to plug-in devices. Here's a list, starting with the most recent to enter the arena, Metromile and American Family Insurance:
Allstate's Drive Wise: You save 10% cash back for signing up. It tracks your car's speed, braking and time of driving. You get up to a 25% discount every six months.
The Hartford's TrueLane: You get a 10% discount for enrolling and then up to 25% if you're a safe driver after 75 days.
Travelers' IntelliDrive: The 90-day program can lead to savings up to 20% based on your driving. Warning: riskier drivers can wind up paying more for insurance after the program.
Esurance's DriveSense: The app transmits details to Esurance, which determines if drivers qualify for discounts up to 30%.
Safeco's Rewind: The company, which is owned by Liberty Mutual, offers a PAYD for motorists who are paying higher insurance rates because of traffic tickets or accidents. Safeco, evaluates your driving and decides on the size of the discount.
No matter which kind of safe driver program, make sure you read the fine print. Most of these programs are free, but some may actually increase your rates if the tool finds you're an unsafe driver.
The service now offered by State Farm is free and like the previous poster stated operates off the GPS and blue tooth settings on your cell phone. You just have the receiver located somewhere in your car and you then need to be sure your phone is on with blue tooth activated whenever you are driving. I've had mine about 7 months, so far I am getting a A for time of day and C's for everything else. That seems pretty good, I was worried I might get bad scores because I am in a lot of stop and go traffic everyday driving in the city.
Reply»State Farm has changed "In Drive" to the newer "Drive Safe." It does not come with the visor mount hands free anymore, but instead has a little hockey puck device that will stick in your glove box (or where ever you choose to place it). It works off the Bluetooth on your cell phone and records trip info. It is done through the drive safe app for your phone, and is sent to State Farm. According to what I've read, it automatically gets you a 5% discount at first.
Reply»I find that State Farm's "Drive Safe" program is an enormous hassle. They do not provide proper instructions, and make like it's easy and effortless to hook up via home internet connection and phone app. When you call customer service, they ask you WAY TOO MANY questions pertaining to your personal ID. I went round and round with two customer service individuals. The second one would not help me until I gave him all information he said the company required of me. I ended up infuriated and hung up. I'm an English teacher, and I'm telling you they do NOT provide proper installation instructions. There's gaps of information missing. It's like they've launched this app without getting the bugs out. It's like running by the seat of your pants. I'm seriously considering leaving and going elsewhere because of my experience(s)!
Reply »I just received notification that State Farm is discontinuing its In Drive in January 2016.
Reply»My letter says they will continue through the end of the year, or until my subscription period ends on Nov 15th. But as of January 2016, they will no longer add new policies, and we will not be able to continue, or pay for any more subscriptions.
Reply »Odd that they letter didn't mention the subscription cost. I had to get it here. Also, when did an insurance company do anything to help the customer? It's still the company bottom line they're concerned with. I would be concerned that they would be reviewing your collected data in case of an accident to see if maybe they could get out of paying a claim.
Reply»So now companies want to know everywhere you have driven and how? So much for privacy. And of course, eventually they'll ask what are you hiding if you refuse to have GPS on your car 24/7 but Federal agencies and private companies will love it. What about hacking and assumptions galore. Just think of all the data mining going on as well! Yuck.
Reply»Just got a letter from my State Farm Insurance agent. It doesn't tell you much about "Drive Safe & Save." So, thanks for your article. Now I know what the State Farm letter was trying to explain.
Reply»I received no savings at all. And here's where they make their money. When I canceled and sent all the parts back, they claimed items were missing and tried to collect $100. That is 50 times any savings ever achieved.
Reply»Could they use this to deny your claim or increase your premiums if they decide that one is a "below average driver." Could they use it as a black box and and deny a claim because one was speeding or something?
Reply»It would seem to me that any insurance savings would be eaten up by the in-drive service, result no savings at all.
Reply»I read this article over a year ago and carefully considered the pros and cons before I enrolled in the program. My agent was very clear about how the "experience period" is 100 days following your next renewal and then your fully realized discount is applied at the following renewal. I did get an initial discount, though, as soon as I ordered the system before it was even plugged in. I have just received my upcoming renewal and the discount is about a 1/3 savings from what I used to pay.
Reply»What is the catch? I certainly can use a discount since I am widowed.
Reply»I got my insurance bill after putting this device on my car for 8 months and all I got was a $4 discount, even though State Farm's website said I was getting a $59 discount. (I only drive about 15 miles a week). I called State farm and they said I would not get that discount until my next renewal, which means $4 for over 8 months being recorded and by then I will have to pay $70 a year for the device. My privacy is worth a little more than that.
Reply»In my 40 years of driving I have one of the best driving records out there. My 1999 Camry LE did not come with informatics such as ON-Star. Living in the west central desert of Arizona, having the convenience of On-Star could literally be a life saver.
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