Canadian Insurance and Tracking app with Teslas

[IndyToronto]

Has anyone used the tracking apps that car insurance companies require to install on your phone?

I noticed two things with TD insurance's MyAdvantage. (and same thing with BelAir direct)

1. I have to disable the aggressive regen recovery mode or I usually get a warning about sudden stopping (basically slowing down too fast from the regen flags the app even when you don't tap brakes) - Also if autopilot is not happy with a car moving erratically on your left lane, and brakes suddenly, that is also flagged as a problem, so it's always risky to turn on the autopilot modes while the app is running.
2. Even in Chill mode, you have to be very gentle with the accelerator, simply turning and then going from 5kph to 50kph after you complete the turn can flag 'rapid acceleration'.

Basically the only way to score well is to drive extremely slow, don't rely on autopilot and never accelerate beyond how ICE cars behave - which is very difficult when youre driving a tesla - it's like having a horse tip toe gently all the time.

 

[M109Rider]

I’m not a fan of tracking apps for insurance.
They will eventually want everyone on them.
Slippery slope.

 

[IndyToronto]

If they do it, I'd rather tesla does it than the insurance companies - especially if the app doesn't understand EVs with the high torque and regen braking. It's difficult to avoid because we're talking about 10% to 25% off your premiums.

 

[Technokrat]

I would never opt for it, besides I don’t think the savings are that great

 

[Soul Surfer]

Has anyone used the tracking apps that car insurance companies require to install on your phone?

I noticed two things with TD insurance's MyAdvantage. (and same thing with BelAir direct)

1. I have to disable the aggressive regen recovery mode or I usually get a warning about sudden stopping (basically slowing down too fast from the regen flags the app even when you don't tap brakes) - Also if autopilot is not happy with a car moving erratically on your left lane, and brakes suddenly, that is also flagged as a problem, so it's always risky to turn on the autopilot modes while the app is running.
2. Even in Chill mode, you have to be very gentle with the accelerator, simply turning and then going from 5kph to 50kph after you complete the turn can flag 'rapid acceleration'.

Basically the only way to score well is to drive extremely slow, don't rely on autopilot and never accelerate beyond how ICE cars behave - which is very difficult when youre driving a tesla - it's like having a horse tip toe gently all the time.

It sort of reminds me of the "variable mortgage rate" controversy. It can go up or down for reasons of which you rarely have control over. For the couple points you might save, I don’t think I'd want "Big Brother"watching over me. It's already a given that Tesla "sees" everything we do, which is why, I would consider their insurance over others, if it were available in Canada and less costly.

 

[archanfel]

I am with TD as well. It's basically only good for local drives since you will get dinged regardless how well you drive on the high way. Just delete anything less than 80 score. I usually score in the 70s on the highway.

But yeah, you just need to be very gentle with the pedal both during braking and accelerating. I get 90-95 on most of my drives. Of course, my wife says I drive even slower than my Prius C now. That's fine with me. I just want a reliable toaster that last me 40 years. I can't get used to auto pilot since it brakes way too fast for my taste even when I set following distance to 7 cars, so I almost never use it.

Also, according to the Internet, you won't get the discounts. It only applies to the driving component of the insurance, which is very small. And they try their best not to give you anyway. I am mostly just for the 5-10% I get up front.

Given Tesla knows every single thing about my car (according to Teslamate) even before I agreed to share data, I don't really care another big brother watch over me.

 

[blue_dragon]

Why the the heck would you opt in to those tracking apps? Is it work the few bucks they claim to save you

 

[archanfel]

Why the the heck would you opt in to those tracking apps? Is it work the few bucks they claim to save you

Why not? It's not as if google, apple or even Tesla don't already know everything about you. Tesla is the wrong car for people who are concerned about privacy.

 

[M109Rider]

Why not? It's not as if google, apple or even Tesla don't already know everything about you. Tesla is the wrong car for people who are concerned about privacy.

This isn’t at all about privacy. It’s about insurance companies wanting everyone on tracking apps, so they can justify raising your rates. Insurance companies LOVE using stats to raise rates. This is a long term dream of theirs, your assisting them with.

 

[archanfel]

This isn’t at all about privacy. It’s about insurance companies wanting everyone on tracking apps, so they can justify raising your rates. Insurance companies LOVE using stats to raise rates. This is a long term dream of theirs, your assisting them with.

Would be pretty hard for them to justify given their apps says I am getting 21% discounts on renewal and pretty much everyone is getting it since you can just delete your bad scores given there's no way they can prove you were driving. Plus, they don't need excuse to raise rates, they can raise on next renewal for no reason and there's nothing I could do about it other than to shop around.

Car theft is skyrocketing with the justice system doing nothing. I highly doubt insurance companies need any more stats.

 

[jjgg]

If they tried to trick me into installing tracking apps, I would just tell them on the spot "no, thank you, I'll go with another insurance company".

 

[M109Rider]

Would be pretty hard for them to justify given their apps says I am getting 21% discounts on renewal and pretty much everyone is getting it since you can just delete your bad scores given there's no way they can prove you were driving. Plus, they don't need excuse to raise rates, they can raise on next renewal for no reason and there's nothing I could do about it other than to shop around.

Car theft is skyrocketing with the justice system doing nothing. I highly doubt insurance companies need any more stats.

lol. They want you and everyone else to feel you’re in control, or getting a better deal right now. This is early, they have an end game in mind.
Do you honestly and truly believe, insurance companies want these apps to save you money long term, and make insurance more affordable with this system.
It might benefit a few demographics, but it will eventually make them more money on the masses, in the long run.

 

[M109Rider]

If they tried to trick me into installing tracking apps, I would just tell them on the spot "no, thank you, I'll go with another insurance company".

That will work at the moment. Until they have enough folks buying into it, and helping them build this out. They will then make it legislation. Then you can’t say no. …

 

[jjgg]

That will work at the moment. Until they have enough folks buying into it, and helping them build this out. They will then make it legislation. Then you can’t say no. …

Then I'll go with a country that can truly respect people's freedom and privacy.

 

[M109Rider]

Then I'll go with a country that can truly respect people's freedom and privacy.

This isn’t about the country, or privacy. This is about corporate profits. All countries have that.

Isn’t it easier, to not opt in to something we know they will hold over us later.

 

[archanfel]

lol. They want you and everyone else to feel you’re in control, or getting a better deal right now. This is early, they have an end game in mind.
Do you honestly and truly believe, insurance companies want these apps to save you money long term, and make insurance more affordable with this system.
It might benefit a few demographics, but it will eventually make them more money on the masses, in the long run.

Had the similar tracking with my previous insurance company, got a big discount and it kept going down over the years. I am sure it went up for the masses, don't really care. In the GTA at least, the masses really need to learn how to drive.

 

[M109Rider]

Had the similar tracking with my previous insurance company, got a big discount and it kept going down over the years. I am sure it went up for the masses, don't really care. In the GTA at least, the masses really need to learn how to drive.

Short term benefits for some, for sure.

You will eventually pay for not caring about the long term, or others, when they change the parameters of how they “feel you need to drive” to continue to get those same discounts.
It WILL happen.

 

[rypalmer]

Had the similar tracking with my previous insurance company, got a big discount and it kept going down over the years. I am sure it went up for the masses, don't really care. In the GTA at least, the masses really need to learn how to drive.

People driving like their and others lives are worthless. Driving up the cost of insurance when they inevitably cause a claim.

 

[M109Rider]

People driving like their and others lives are worthless. Driving up the cost of insurance when they inevitably cause a claim.

I agree there are loads of bad drivers. But insurance for those drivers go up on their own.

Opting into this is short term gain for some demographics. But that will be short lived also, once they get more adopters. Your rates will go up. They are banking on this long term strategy.

 

[Struja]

The day our pathetic provinicial government(s) require insurers to dislcose their profits and their financial statements to the public, is the day I will contemplate allowing them to track me. In Ontario, they have a guaranteed customer base of about 8 million people. In all of my life, I've never seen a major insurer go belly up, so this idea that they will give me a measly 10-15% discount so that they can monitor my every move is a non-starter.