Budget Concerns: How Much Insurance is Enough?

Three Tricks To Maximize Your Used-Based Insurance Benefits

31 July 2015

Dustin Duncan

Used-based insurance is a form of coverage in which your insurance company monitors your driving and gives you a discount based on it. The insurer collects different forms of data that it uses to gauge whether you are a safe driver. If this is something you are interested in, then use these three tricks to maximize its usefulness:

Understand the Data Collected

The type of data collected varies by company and by state laws. You can then determine whether you are comfortable with the setup, and whether you stand to benefit from it. Some of the common forms of data collected for used-based insurance purposes include:

• How much you drive
• How often you drive
• Where you drive
• When (time of the day) you drive
• How fast you drive

For example, if you tend to drive in safe neighborhoods, and only during the day, then this may not help you much in California. This is because the state does not allow insurers to track driving locations and times.

Opt For a Bundled Service

In a bid to encourage more motorists to opt for UBI, some auto insurers bundle the service with other useful gadgets. For example, you may be offered the tracking device as part of your car's entertainment system. These devices can also be inbuilt in vehicle safety systems or even as part of a hands-free mobile phone system. That way, you get better value for your money because the bundles tend to be cheaper than buying the standalone products or services. What is more, you may even be offered a free trial service for the products before purchase.

Use It to Improve Your Driving

The third trick is to use the data collected by your insurer to improve your driving. Note that this is only possible if your insurance company gives you access to the data. Some companies do this by giving you access to a web portal where the information is put up. Try it, and you may be surprised to unearth some driving habits that you may not even know you have. For example, if you frequently brake hard, then the information may spur you to start braking more safely. 

Talk to a professional insurer today, like those at D A Insurance Brokers, to see if it offers used-based insurance. Who knows, you may even be given a trial period to see how much you can save by using this service. If you are a careful motorist, then you stand to enjoy considerable discounts. 

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