Can Esurance’s DriveSense Help Save You Money?
Last Updated on June 27, 2021
If you are on the prowl for ways to save money, Esurance’s DriveSense program is worth considering. DriveSense is a program that tracks drivers through a telematics system. To be more specific, customers’ driving habits are tracked through a mobile phone app. Discounts are then given to users that Esurance determines are “safe drivers”. While safe drivers can get a discount through the app, bad drivers will not experience a rate hike after using the app. All in all, Esurance claims the average DriveSense member saves $100 on average through the program.
Esurance Background
At this point, most readers are questioning whether it is prudent to let a corporation monitor their driving habits. Though some will construe DriveSense as nothing but an invasion of personal privacy that has the potential to result in some savings, it is actually quite an interesting technology. Those who truly drive safely will gravitate toward this technology simply because it can save them a meaningful amount of money.
Esurance is worth your trust. This company specializes in the use of technology to provide customers with an accessible means of purchasing and accessing car insurance. Esurance provides car insurance in 43 states. Aside from auto insurance, the company also provides motorcycle, renters, and homeowners insurance to boot.
An affiliate of Esurance, Arity, operates the DriveSense program. Both Esurance and Arity are subsidiaries of Allstate. Arity’s specialty is the tech that tracks driver actions with the overarching goal of making transportation that much safer. If you have any privacy concerns about DriveSense, be sure to take a look at Arity’s privacy policy so you understand exactly how the information collected about your driving habits will be used.
The Basics of the Esurance DriveSense App
DriveSense monitors each customer’s driving behaviors, offering auto insurance discounts in accordance with driving performance. DriveSense monitors and logs your driving habits through a mobile phone app. The app is free to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play. Even if you are not an Esurance customer, you can download the app for free to track your driving habits. If you are an Esurance customer, you’ll get an instant discount on your insurance just for downloading the app and enrolling in the program.
It is interesting to note the DriveSense app might record your trip if you are on another form of transportation or in a vehicle with another person. Thankfully, you can delete trips from the app in instances when you were not driving.
Though the DriveSense app is available to download everywhere in the United States, the DriveSense discount program is currently not available everywhere. Esurance is, however, gradually moving toward providing the DriveSense insurance discount in all 50 states. DriveSense is currently available in these states:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- North Dakota
- Nebraska
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- Nevada
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
Esurance DriveSense Will Save You Money
The primary purpose of using the DriveSense technology is to save money. DriveSense monitors your driving behaviors, creates maps of your driving patterns, and even provides weekly recaps of your driving habits and trips. The driving tips provided by DriveSense really will help you become that much safer of a driver and ultimately save you money on all aspects of your driving. In fact, you are provided with an automatic Esurance auto insurance discount the moment you enroll in the DriveSense program. Once the time comes to renew your auto insurance policy you are provided with a discount unique to your driving behavior as tracked by the app. The discount you receive has the potential to change as time progresses in accordance with the manner in which you drive. However, you will be ineligible for the discount if you do not make at least 50 “trips” in a single term.
Can DriveSense Increase Your Auto Insurance?
Those interested in Esurance DriveSense commonly ask whether the program has the potential to track bad driving habits and ultimately hike insurance rates. DriveSense will not spike your auto insurance rates even if you are the worst driver in the world. Your auto insurance rates will either level off or decrease after the technology is installed in your vehicle. DriveSense users are perfectly free to cancel the program whenever desired.
How to Save Money With Esurance DriveSense
Even if you are not the world’s best driver, there are a couple of things you can do with DriveSense installed in your vehicle to reduce your auto insurance costs. Your DriveSense discount hinges on your driving habits. In particular, the technology zeroes in on your rate of speed. The app records the number of miles driven at 80 mph or higher. If you drive at this speed or faster, it is classified as a “high-speed event” by the DriveSense technology. The bottom line is you should keep your speed below 80 mph in order to continue receiving a meaningful discount through the DriveSense program.
Even the time of day in which you drive impacts the amount of the discount you receive through the Esurance DriveSense program. Those who drive during daylight hours as opposed to nighttime are likely to receive a much more substantial discount through the program. However, even driving during early morning hours can eat away at your discount as this time is considered an unsafe hour.
In order to maximize your discount through DriveSense, you should avoid hard braking. Hard brake events occur when the rate of speed is reduced 8-10 mph in a single second. Your discount will be reduced if you have multiple hard/extreme braking events. Though Esurance collects additional information about your driving habits, that information is not considered when your DriveSense discount is calculated.
