Growing popularity of auto insurance telematics programs provide more discount opportunities

Online Auto Insurance (OAI) has been encouraging customer awareness over a broader array of opportunities to find discounts on their coverage through motorist behaviors such as safe driving and low mileage, following a number of recent reports that are showing that insurers are likely to begin significant investments into technology that will record and transmit information about the driving behaviors of policyholders. A growing number of insurance companies have already been offering programs on an optional basis that allows motorists to install an electronic device into their vehicle that will…

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Hartford to test a new form of car policy in 2012

Hartford Financial Services Group has announced its intentions to begin a pilot program in 2012 for an auto insurance policy based on telematics. Hartford’s president of consumer markets, Andy Napoli made the announcement during the company’s investors meeting. The new policy will be using telematics. According to Napoli, using the “devices in insured vehicles to transmit information about driving behavior, such as miles driven, speed, acceleration, deceleration, and using that information to price the risk.” This pilot program will be known as TrueLane and will begin in the first half…

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Do associations truly offer the best insurance rate discounts?

An investigation by Consumer Reports has shown that while some policies that are quoted through associations – AARP, for example – are often cheaper than rates quoted without a membership, many quotes received through associations are more expensive. Although many people automatically assume that they will be receiving a better price by receiving a quote through their membership with an organization, alumni association, or other group, this is not always the case. There may be perks to the membership, but this does not always include cheaper insurance. Consumer Reports gave…

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State Farm uses telematics to help drivers obtain better car insurance rates

State Farm has announced that it has partnered with Hughes Telematics Inc. in order to give its car insurance customers the opportunity to use an in-vehicle device so that they may lower their auto insurance rates. State Farm is calling the program In-Drive, and uses technology developed by the Atlanta-based telematics company to give its Illinois policy holders a chance to take part in the program starting in September. Other states may also be offered this program in 2012. The features of the technology are comparable to some of those…

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Same-sex partners in Illinois to qualify for auto insurance discounts with Esurance

auto insurance discounts

Esurance has announced that it will be providing discounts for auto insurance to same-sex partner customers in Illinois. Following the June 1, 2011 start of the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act within the state, which provided same-sex couples with the right to civil union and rights equal to other married couples, Esurance declared that it would also respect this union and qualify same-sex partners for auto insurance discounts in the same way they would qualify opposite-sex spouses. The savings that can be as high as 10 percent, or…

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