It’s no doubt that technology has changed all aspects of our lives. It’s changed how we shop, educate, communicate, and how we drive. We now have electric cars, Bluetooth radio systems, devices that track our gas mileage, and more.
Technology also has changed the auto insurance industry considerably. There’s so much more accessibility for information from drivers now, and we can learn more about the driver’s behavior. This data will likely make rates lower unless you’re terrible behind the wheel.
We’re going to go over all the ways technology has changed the auto insurance industry.
Telematic Devices
Telematic devices have completely changed how insurance companies view drivers. It’s a device you install in your car that records your driving behavior. Your telematic device takes information like how fast you drive, your braking habits, and how much mileage you usually cover.
Then, the auto insurance company calculates all of that to see what you should pay a month. If you prove to be a safe driver, your rate will lower. However, if you’re a speed demon that travels a lot during the week, you could see an increase in insurance because you’ll be viewed as a riskier driver.
Self-Driving Cars
Self-driving cars have become more popular over the last couple of years. There are vehicles that have automatic features like braking, lane control, and speed. Also, there are some cars that are fully automatic.
These are changing insurance companies because human error is taken out of the picture. The insurance companies will consider self-driving cars more reliable than human drivers because they have been calculated to prevent unsafe driving.
Car to Car Communication
In the past, cars communicated with a loud honk and possibly a finger or two. However, now there’s the technology that allows communication without any human interaction. Your vehicle will send data like how fast it’s going and how close it is to other cars around it.
The other cars then take that information and calculate whether it should slow down. For insurance companies, this is important because if vehicles can communicate with each other, fewer accidents will happen.
The Bottom Line
Overall, technology has changed many parts of our lives, and how we drive is definitely one of them. In many ways, insurance companies now have more information about drivers than ever before to determine how much we pay.
Now we have telematic devices to track how we drive, self-driving cars that reduce human error when driving, and also car to car communication that creates fewer accidents.
It’s possible that more will change as we create more tech for cars, and that will have an effect on insurance companies again. Most of the technology will make rates lower, so that’s something to look forward to!