Over the past two decades, we’ve seen a significant move of insurance companies from auto insurance policy based on generic view to personalized policy.

If we could point out a pioneer of this, it should be the car tracking insurance program, alongside the historical driving records.

While the tracking car insurance program should have been an ideal fit for both the insurer and the insured, it is not. Can Drive Safe and Save hurt you?

If you’re planning to join State farm’s car insurance tracking program known as “Drive Safe and Save” you may want to know how safe it is, whether it has any negative effect, or better still, if it could hurt you or not. Read on to find out.

Can Drive Safe and Save hurt you?

can drive safe and save hurt me - statefarm homepage
Image credit: statefarm.com

In as much as you can you earn discounts on the program, if things don’t go well, Drive safe and save could hurt you negatively. It’s worth mentioning that this is inclusive of other car insurance tracking program.

If you’re on the verge of joining the Drive safe and save program, you must have heard a lot of goodies from State farm about this product.

According to the company, you can get up to 30% of discount, if you’re able to keep up with a green score throughout the program.

Read also: Can Geico Drive easy hurt you?

However, have you thought of the consequences you could face if you aren’t able to meet up with the score. Can Drive Safe and Save hurt you or have negative effect?

Yes. While the Drive safe and save program has upsides, there’s also the downside. So, definitely it could make you smile or even hurt you.

Why?

Below are the reasons why the State farm drive safe and save program can hurt you:

  • Your driving data could be used against you
  • The Drive safe and save tracking sensor could misread you
  • The program could increase your insurance rates

Your driving data could be used against you

It’s not a new thing to our ears of how almost all insurance companies are after reducing claims (that’s where they make their money from – you can’t blame them).

Assuming you have a brief accident that made damages to an individual car…

Not minding whether you’re the cause of the accident or not, in the case of a desperate car insurance company who might want to investigate further to find out the cause of the accident, they could gain access to your tracked data.

And then, they would be like “you made a drift corner, that was what lead to the accident.”

At this point, you have no proof to counter these accusations.

You’ve just claimed the damage of an accident, which you might not be the cause of.

The Drive safe and save tracking sensor could misread you

The Drive safe and save tracking sensor is not a human being. It only follows pattern and rules, just like most other car insurance tracking.

The worst part? Drive safe and save leverages an App as its tracker.

While tracking apps are good, they’re not reliable.

For instance, detecting between when you’re a passenger and a driver. Most car insurance claim to accurately detect it. However, it’s not always accurate. We’ve seen fall of the hook severally.

So, just imagine yourself as a passenger in a bus, with a bad driver. You’ll have to pay dearly for the driver’s driving mistakes, if any.

Read Also: How to get around Geico drive easy program

Another typical example of how the drive safe and save tracker could misread you, is when you take a hasty action due to a sudden obstruction on the road.

A perfect example of this is if an animal or someone suddenly rushes out onto the road, and you had to brake forcefully. Even though it was the right thing to do, you’ll get penalized. Hence, your insurance rate would be increased.

The program could increase your insurance rates

While the Drive safe and save program could increase your insurance rate if you perform according to the company standard, there’s also some chance that you could end up spiking your rates.

Yes, you could be a good driver. But that does not define it all.

So you know, your data is tracked by an app, which only tracks your car driving behavior, and not drivers or pedestrians.

In other words, for the period of 6 months you have to drive safely, regardless of any external cause. Within this period, if you were to get hit by another car, it’s all your fault.

Also, for ethics like driving late in the night or drive more often, the Drive safe and save program does tag you as someone who’s risky to do business with. Hence, you receive a bad score which could end up topping your insurance rate.

Can Drive Safe and Save hurt you - driving late in the night
Image credit: canva.com

The point here is that you’re on the verge of getting your insurance rate increased if you fail to satisfy their driving standards.

Is the State farm’s Drive safe and save a good idea?

The drive safe and save program could be a good idea if you plan on sticking to the rules of the platform. However, there’s no reverse button – if you mess up, you could get your insurance rate spiked.

Before you get registered to the Drive safe and save program, it’s best you know what the company tracks and how it guages a good driver.

So, you know, when the Drive safe and save app is installed on your phone, it checks for:

  1. How long you drive
  2. When you drive more often (by night or day).
  3. Braking
  4. Acceleration
  5. Drifts
  6. Whether you make use of a phone while driving.

Final Thoughts

The point here is to know what works for you and stick with it.  – keep in mind that if you drive badly during this program, you could get your insurance rates spiked forever.  So, it’s a two-way game and risky as well.

FAQ

Does Drive Safe and Save track phone usage?

Drive Safe and Save may track phone usage, including factors like phone calls, text messages, and app usage, as part of its monitoring for safe driving habits.

Why is drive safe and save app not recording trips?

The Drive Safe and Save app may not record trips due to various reasons, such as GPS signal issues, incorrect app settings, or technical glitches. Checking the app’s permissions and ensuring proper GPS functionality can help resolve the issue.

Does Apple Carplay affect drive safe and save?

Apple Carplay typically doesn’t directly affect Drive Safe and Save. However, it’s important to ensure the Drive Safe and Save app is running in the background while using Apple Carplay to ensure accurate trip recording and monitoring.

How do I stop drive safe and save from tracking?

To stop Drive Safe and Save from tracking, you can usually disable the tracking feature within the app’s settings. If you wish to completely stop the tracking, you can opt-out of the Drive Safe and Save program or contact your insurance provider for specific instructions.

Does drive safe and save use battery?

Yes, Drive Safe and Save uses some battery power since it relies on GPS and other sensors to monitor driving habits. However, the battery usage should be optimized to minimize the impact on overall device performance.

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Author

A lover of advance technology and a skillful driver, Ebubechukwu is the owner of Tekitora. He has been in the car rental industry since 2018, with experience in 3 different car rental companies which include Enterprise, Budget and Turo.