AIG insurance app - any experiences?

GatsbyGal

I am. In the process of renewing my car insurance and talked to AIG today. They were by far the cheapest provider and also let me know about an app they have which monitors my driving. This app would allow them to see my driving habits etc and report it back to them. They indicated that it was a phone battery drainer though. Has anyone any experiences in using it and would you recommend I go for it?
Thanks,

GG

Alanstrainor

GatsbyGal wrote: »

I am. In the process of renewing my car insurance and talked to AIG today. They were by far the cheapest provider and also let me know about an app they have which monitors my driving. This app would allow them to see my driving habits etc and report it back to them. They indicated that it was a phone battery drainer though. Has anyone any experiences in using it and would you recommend I go for it?
Thanks,

GG

Very interesting...wonder how this works...surely it could just be turned off, and only turned on every once in a while?

GatsbyGal

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Very interesting...wonder how this works...surely it could just be turned off, and only turned on every once in a while?

Yes that is exactly what I was thinking.. The incentive to leave it on though is it will give you discounts if your recorded driving habits are favorable.

bazz26

So when do they apply the discounts? At renewal time?

GatsbyGal

bazz26 wrote: »

So when do they apply the discounts? At renewal time?

I believe they would apply them three months after policy start date provided driving habits are good.

Alanstrainor

Sitec wrote: »

Put it in mams car, hey presto.

Or just do a once a week granny run to the shops and back. Done.

dastardly00

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Or just do a once a week granny run to the shops and back. Done.

I'm guessing they would give you feck all of a discount after 3 months if that was all the driving that the app recorded! :pac:

bazz26

GatsbyGal wrote: »

I believe they would apply them three months after policy start date provided driving habits are good.

Refund at the end of the year or credit towards next year's premium which forces you to stick with them even if they are not competitive the second year? Not trying to grill you btw, just trying to figure out if there is a catch with this scheme.

pudzey101

Tryed to make me have that too told them I don't have a smart phone , no one has perfect driving habits . Lots of catches too if you tell them you only drive <5k a year and go over that limit you won't be covered if it's monitored

biko

My guess it's just an app to get some readings from the GPS.
Monitored driving is not new and not very popular.

Alanstrainor

pudzey101 wrote: »

Tryed to make me have that too told them I don't have a smart phone , no one has perfect driving habits . Lots of catches too if you tell them you only drive <5k a year and go over that limit you won't be covered if it's monitored

Well that sounds like nonsense....perhaps they could put a loading on the policy, but you wont lose cover.

kirving

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Well that sounds like nonsense....perhaps they could put a loading on the policy, but you wont lose cover.

You wont lose cover no, but under no circumstances would I ever use such an app. Not that I speed, or that I have any worries about the safety of my own driving, but the app uses GPS and also the accelerometers in your phone to try and understand how you're driving.

Accelrate a bit too fast to merge onto a motorway, and the app will consider that dangerous driving, brake heavily because a cyclist pulls out in front of you without looking - you must not have been paying attention, hit a drunk who runs the on the road in Dublin City centre at 31kph - you are automatically at fault, etc, etc.

It's not in the insurance companies interests to give discounts, and the data gathered will be held against you in order to increase premiums after a period of time.

Alanstrainor

Kevin Irving wrote: »

You wont lose cover no, but under no circumstances would I ever use such an app. Not that I speed, or that I have any worries about the safety of my own driving, but the app uses GPS and also the accelerometers in your phone to try and understand how you're driving.

Accelrate a bit too fast to merge onto a motorway, and the app will consider that dangerous driving, brake heavily because a cyclist pulls out in front of you without looking - you must not have been paying attention, hit a drunk who runs the on the road in Dublin City centre at 31kph - you are automatically at fault, etc, etc.

It's not in the insurance companies interests to give discounts, and the data gathered will be held against you in order to increase premiums after a period of time.

I agree completely, there is no way I would allow any private company to track me to that extent. And who knows what will happen to your data once it's in their hands. Scary territory we're entering with such systems.

bazz26

Majority of smart phone apps already out there record your phone's location anyway so who knows what is done with that info. CIA probably have it.