Telematics and your car insurance

Telematics is making waves in the car insurance industry. If you haven’t heard of it yet, then get ready because it’s being tested in Alberta as we speak.

The idea of telematics is simple: A device is installed in your vehicle that tracks information sent out by the computer system in your engine. This data will tell insurance companies how much you’ve been driving, what time of day you’ve been driving, your speed, the force at which you apply your brakes, etc. All told, they can piece together a fairly accurate picture of you as a driver. Good drivers are rewarded with lower rates, up to 25% less than they would be paying otherwise.

But there is a catch. First of all, Alberta is a little behind the times when compared to

Other provinces like Ontario. At this time, if an Alberta based auto insurer wants to base their rates on telematics data, the province’s superintendent of insurance must approve it. This means fewer people are getting the devices installed.

Secondly, brokers are not privy to the telematics data collected by your device; only the carrier is. And herein lies the problem: We tell you that you can save up to 25% on your car insurance by installing the device, but when your new rate is configured you only save 5%. Now you’re unhappy, and to be perfectly honest, we can’t do anything to help you, because we don’t have any idea what your score was, or how to improve it. For good drivers, telematics will likely improve their premiums. For other drivers, likely not.

Telematics is coming to the world of insurance. Here at Alpine Insurance and Financial, we support any model that will help you get a better deal on your car insurance!

Source – IBAO’s telematics subsidiary ‘reached out’ to Alberta car insurance regulator

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