A new app that monitors your driving behaviour could help you save money.
Intact Insurance’s My Driving Discount program rewards good driving habits by using an app to monitor your driving habits. It then reassesses your premiums based upon the data.
Intact Insurance’s Rosa Nelson told the Alberta Morning News on Sunday that the app monitors for key indicators of driving competency.
“It monitors three driving behaviours,” she said. “The time of day that you drive, your acceleration and your braking.
“You’re only assessed on those three factors, but what we have found is those three factors are a generally pretty good indication of safe driving habits.”
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Nelson added that the assessment could help make you a better driver.
“Once people get this evaluation of their driving habits, we have found that it really starts to change their driving behaviour and it makes them safer on the roads,” she said.
The program has only been available in Alberta since March, so there’s not much data available on Alberta drivers’ habits. However, Nelson said they’ve received positive feedback on the app in Ontario.
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“We are finding the feedback we’re receiving is that it’s really making people look a little more closely at how they’re driving when they’re on the road, and whether they can be more safe as they do that,” Nelson said. “So the feedback we’re getting from customers is really good.”
Nelson said aside from the benefits of better understanding your own driving habits, there’s also a monetary benefit for signing up for the program, especially for new drivers.
“There’s a 10 per cent discount right off the bat just for signing up, and you can actually get up to a 25 per cent discount based on your driving behaviours,” she said.
“It is a very good incentive for those young drivers who tend to have higher rates than maybe someone who has a wealth of experience behind them.”
Learn more about the program here.
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