Would You Let Your Insurance Company Put a Tracking Device On Your Car?

[Jadex]

No!!

[swagger]

Originally Posted by sindey

Do you honestly believe that they want this just so they can reduce your rates? LOL

LOL, indeed. You should actually read what you're replying to - it makes for a better conversation.

I already covered this. Every discount an insurance company (or any other company, for that matter) offers their customers is expected to provide that business with a return of equal or greater value. That value could be a direct monetary value (e.g. multiple vehicle discounts), or it could be something non-tangible, such as increasing their customer retention rate (e.g. loyalty discounts).

In this case, they're better able to identify who the riskier policy holders are. If you feel you're a safe driver, and you don't mind demonstrating that to them, they're willing to give you a break on your rate. That's somehow wrong?

I'm sure that they'll also be aggregating the data from all the participants to get a better feel for how people drive in general, which is probably where the most value lies for the company. I'd also wager that this would be the part of the program with which you have the most concern. Ironically, it's the part where your identity is no longer important, and you're just another number thrown into the cruncher. Insurance companies are in the business of assessing risk - that's ALL they do. Data like that could prove very useful for that purpose.

So tell me - what precisely is your concern here? How do you see that information being used against you? Be specific - I don't want to read any more hazy paranoia. If you're genuinely concerned, you should be able to articulate why.

Oh, and as for questioning the government et al, I'm all for it. Abuse can and does happen, and it needs to be kept in check. In this case, I read the OP, considered what they were doing, and reached a different conclusion than you did. I've explained my position pretty thoroughly. I'm still waiting for you to explain yours.

[Calvinist]

Originally Posted by sindey

LOL I'm not paranoid at all. I just question the reasons behind everything when it comes to insurance, major corporation & our government. < as it should be.
If not being a sheeple is your idea of being paranoid thats your problem champ.
I question how much more will big insurance voluntarily request.
Do you honestly believe that they want this just so they can reduce your rates? LOL

I work for the insurance industry, so maybe this seems more logical to me than you.

Think about it. Lowering your rates means profits to them. If an insurance company can take 10%-20% of its people and almost guarantee that they won't do any of the stupid stuff that causes accidents and drop their rates by a few bucks...they stand to make money.

They can market that, sign them up, and get a steady stream of income from people while almost guaranteeing that they'll never have to pay out, or pay out in very small amounts.

[Mr. Joshua]

Originally Posted by swagger

...Third, it's a private company, not the government. If you don't like their business practices, you're free to look elsewhere for your insurance needs.

There's nothing nefarious about what they're doing here. Anyone that says otherwise is simply playing on your ignorance and your fear of "The Corporations™."

Unlike the governor of my state (Massachusetts, that bastion of benign progressivism) who wants to make tracking devices mandatory for all vehicles registered in the state for the purpose of taxing us by the miles we drive on state roads.

[LauraC]

I have a book recommendation for everyone that posted in this thread, The Numerati by Stephen Baker.

"Every click we make, every cell phone call, every credit-card purchase enlarges our 'digital dossiers,' business journalist Baker explains in this bracing behind-the-screen investigation into the booming world of data mining and analysis. Our digital echoes collect in a vast ocean of data that marketers and government agencies alike are eager to trawl, if only it were charted. Enter the top-notch mathematicians Baker dubs the Numerati. Baker gamely visits eerily high-tech companies and speaks with algorithm wizards intent on quantifying everything we do in all arenas of life in order to mathematically model humanity and manipulate our behavior. Baker’s report on microtargeted marketing, the use of workplace data to 'optimize' employees, the scrutiny of online social networks, and the robotic reading of millions of blogs supports his warning that we’re 'in danger of becoming data serfs—slaves to the information we produce.'”

The above book review is from Booklist on the Amazon website on the book's page (scroll down). There is a review there from Publisher's Weekly, as well.

Amazon.com: The Numerati (9780547247939): Stephen Baker: Books