Ford Motor Company rolled out in February 2020 a Nationwide Insurance program for connected vehicles that was designed to reward safe driving. This program was as easy as installing the Ford or Lincoln app on your smartphone and filling out the online form and agreeing to share the driving data from the black boxs with Nationwide. This allowed drivers to save based on their safe driving habits that are reported to the insurance company. No plug-in devices or additional apps required. Insurance was available in 39 states on 2020 modem-equipped models.
Per Elena Ford, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Ford Motor Company, “This is the latest way we’re improving the customer experience,” “Insure makes getting insurance easier for connected-vehicle customers to cover one of their biggest investments – their vehicle – while saving money.”
This program would also include the Nationwide Accident Forgiveness option also. Per Nationwide, customers buying new autos are wanting to get insurance right away that is simple and easy to sign up for, the new Insure program does that for New Ford and Lincoln autos.
We move to December of 2020 and Ford has updated the Ford and Lincoln Insure programs that use State Farm, Allstate, Liberty Mutual and Metromile along with Nationwide to expand coverage to save customers money on premiums based on using the latest Telematics that are auto reported to these insurance companies may be eligible to receive insurance premiums discounts based on their driving habits.
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Ford has stated that several more insurance companies are under contract and will be announced in the future.
For Ford Motor Company customers, how they drive have the potential to earn big discounts on their auto insurance. Alex Purdy, director of Ford Business operations stated the following, “Connected vehicles present new opportunities for us to help customers save money and improve their experience with Ford products,” “Whether customers are purchasing through Ford Insure or working with another carrier, we are committed to giving them the ability to choose the right option for themselves – and to potentially earn big discounts based on how they drive.”
We move forward to today, February 15th, 2022 and the Ford / Lincoln Insure program goes live with State Farm where State Farm customers with eligible connected Ford / Lincoln vehicles can now opt into the State Farm UBI Program, "Drive Safe & Save", which will adjust premiums to an individual vehicles mileage and customer driving behavior based on the reporting from the Telematics connected system of the auto.
The State Farm with Ford / Lincoln Insurance program will start with Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Oregon as of February 27th, 2022. It will then be rolled out across the nation excluding California, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Ford believes this will increase safety for all by helping the auto owner improve their driving characteristics as they pay for insurance based on the miles they drive and their habits of how they drive. State Farm says their customers will on average save 10 to 15% on average using this program and could go as high as 40% based on an individual's driving habits.
While one can see for those drivers that are very cautious, this can save them money. One does have to wonder about those that opt into this type of program and are a bit more aggressive, could they then see their premiums go higher? This only makes logical sense as Insurance companies could easily use the broadcasted telematics to also ding those that are more aggressive in driving over the speed limit, moving back and forth between lanes, etc.
One has to wonder how many people will go for being monitored 24/7 when they drive their auto? How will insurance adjust based on buying a GT Mustang or electric Mach-e? Just as with health insurance and how smokers pay higher premiums than non-smokers, this could tend to create true casts of high insurance premiums for people who are not afraid of speed and lower costs for those that drive slow without taking into account that while there are good and bad drivers in both categories.
Many people have seen people who buy powerful expensive auto's get on the freeway, move over the passing lane and then drive 20 mph under the posted speed limit. This to this writer is just as dangerous to other drivers on the road as is the one who buys a performance auto, routinely drives 20 over the posted speed limit and cuts in and out of traffic.
Is this the future of all driving? Could we see no matter how fast / powerful your auto is, that the only way to get auto insurance is to eventually agree to monitored driving by the insurance companies? With this telematics, will it require that each person driving logs in so that the driving telematics are clearly associated with each individual as one would have in a large household? One has to wonder how far they will go with connected driving and the options to the buyer about how this data is handled.
QUESTION:
What are your thoughts on connected driving and insurance? Way of the future or crossing a line on big brother watching you?
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