Insurance Commissioners Launch Tool for Assessing New Auto Insurance Types
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners says a new form of usage-based auto insurance that employs tracking is growing in prominence. The association is offering a new assessment for figuring out if it's right for you.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners wants you to rethink your driving habits—and how they affect your insurance.
NAIC, noting the recent trend of more urban adults foregoing driving, is making the case for usage-based insurance, with the help of a new assessment tool. NAIC’s DriveCheck tool, which it introduced this week, allows drivers to better understand their usage patterns as well as how those patterns might affect the insurance they need.
The payment technology, also known as telematics, uses vehicle tracking to transmit information to an insurer to better target how individuals rely on vehicles. On a consumer alert page, NAIC acknowledges there are privacy concerns regarding the new technology, but also points to its benefits, such as more accurate pricing of premiums and a better understanding of how drivers use their vehicle.
The technology is becoming more common in any case. According to NAIC, 80 percent of new cars will have the technology by late 2018, and 70 percent of auto insurers will support it by 2020. For older cars, smartphone apps are a way to track driving patterns.
In a news release, NAIC’s president, Ted Nickel, says usage-based insurance will grow in value as new variations on transportation become more common.
“Exciting transformations in mobility, including ridesharing, increased use of public transportation, and self-driving vehicles mean consumer driving habits are and will continue to change,” Nickel, who is also Wisconsin’s insurance commissioner, said in the release. “New insurance products may be an option for some drivers whose habits have shifted. That’s why the NAIC created DriveCheck.”
The association adds that while usage-based insurance isn’t for everyone, it’s always good to re-evaluate your insurance needs, even if your primary experience today is as a passenger in a ride-share vehicle.
Consumers can learn more at NAIC’s website, Insure U.
(iStock/Thinkstock)
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