Some states allow you to choose for yourself. Your state’s insurance laws determine whether you can use the plug-in device or the smartphone app. The device plugs into your car’s diagnostic port, which is usually located beneath the steering wheel. Snapshot monitors your driving through a smartphone app, available for iOS and Android devices, or through a device you plug into your car. But if you drive long distances, brake suddenly, use your smartphone while driving or exceed the speed limit, your premiums could increase. If your driving data shows you obey the speed limit, stay off the roads late at night and drive only short distances, you could save money with a telematics program like Snapshot.

Progressive Snapshot program monitors your real-time driving habits and then factors them into your car insurance premiums.

Progressive is one of many insurers offering a telematics program to base how much you pay in premiums on your driving skills instead of your demographics and driving history alone. However, if you drive a lot and tend to exceed the speed limit - or if you can’t help but brake hard on busy roads - you may be better off sticking with traditional insurance. Because auto insurance is so personal and state-specific, you’d need to compare telematics insurers to find the biggest savings. So if you’re an occasional driver who obeys the speed limits and refuses to use your phone from the driver’s seat, you could save up to 30% on your car insurance bill.Ĭompared to other insurers’ telematics programs, Progressive Snapshot is in the middle of the pack for customer savings: better than Nationwide’s SmartRide but a little less than Allstate’s Drivewise.īut Allstate’s baseline premiums average more than Progressive to begin with, so you may still pay more with Allstate.

For decades, car insurance companies set premiums on your age, the value of your car and the distance between your home and work.īut Progressive Snapshot takes this practice a step further, collecting data from your actual driving habits and factoring it into your premiums. Using data to set car insurance premiums isn’t new.

Review of drive snapshot