Insurers attaching boxes to cars to collect data, set rates

By Kyle B. Hansen

Saturday, March 27, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

A small, blue plastic box may be the future of car insurance.

The box, which plugs into the on-board diagnostic port of the car, wirelessly sends data to the driver’s insurance company.

If motorists don’t mind sharing information with their insurer, it may save them some money.

“This is really where we think auto insurance is headed,” said AAA Nevada spokesman Michael Geeser. “We want to use the most accurate information we can, and this is one way of gathering that.”

Nevada is the first state to get the service, called uDrive, for AAA. But if it is a success here, it will spread, Geeser said. The auto club is holding open houses this weekend to show off the new devices.

Progressive Insurance has offered a similar program, called MyRate, in Nevada since September, spokeswoman Susan Rouser said. Progressive offers MyRate in 19 states and is working on expanding the program. Some 100,000 Progressive customers already use MyRate.

The boxes plug into most cars made after 1996.

AAA’s new program tracks the number of miles the vehicle runs and the speed it travels.

The company is offering customers a 10 percent discount on their auto insurance for using the device, Geeser said. If the customer drives fewer than 10,000 miles in a year, they get an additional 5 percent discount.

“You can’t lose; even if you don’t drive less than 10,000 miles you still get a discount,” Geeser said.

The average motorist drives 12,000 miles a year.

Progressive’s program also tracks the time of day the car is used and how often the driver uses his or her brakes, Rouser said. It then offers customers an insurance rate based on a comparison of the driver’s data compared with other drivers in the state.

“We’re always looking for ways for customers to save, and this is something that helps them determine their rates,” Rouser said.

Both programs allow customers to log onto a Web site to view their driving data, which allows them to adjust their driving habits.

Geeser said the program gives AAA data that will help it better understand drivers’ needs and habits. Plus, drivers can use the data to find ways to lower their own costs by changing how they drive.

The devices do not have GPS technology and cannot tell the insurers where the cars are located.

But the program attracts safer drivers, which helps the insurer, Geeser said.

“The data helps make better drivers, and makes the whole valley better,” he said. “We want safe drivers, not only our members, but also the driver next to them on the road.”