Can Insurance Discounts Lead to Fewer Distracted Drivers?

Good2Go, an auto insurer specialized in minimum coverage insurance, has announced a new discount to customers who install text-blocking devices in their vehicles. The telematics-based strategy will improve driver safety and lessen the cost for customers.

Drivers who install the devices and provide proof of purchase to Good2Go will receive a 5% discount off bodily injury, property damage, and collision coverage per vehicle. The text blockers are designed to prevent use of cellphone functions such as text messaging, Internet browsing and email. Other apps and outgoing calls may be blocked as well, depending on the device.

[ Telematics gains popularity: N.Y. Rolls Out Welcome Mat For Telematics. ]

The telematics-powered text blockers are small devices that can connect to the OBD-II port or behind the rear-view mirror of a vehicle, as Cellcontrol’s text blocker does. Good2Go is not particular about the type of text blockers its customers use.

Telematics has been growing as a means of rewarding good drivers. Esurance recently took steps to eliminate distracted driving with its DriveSafe program, which limits teenagers’ phone use and monitors their behavior on the road. MetroMile and Direct Insurance are utilizing telematics to offer discounts to users who demonstrate optimal driving behavior.

“We believe that families who would be inclined to install a blocking device will be safer, more responsible drivers, and submit fewer claims,” said Joe DeLago, CEO of Good2Go. “We back that supposition by reducing rates for such families, and think they deserve the lower rates they will receive.”

Good2Go’s initiative eases the financial burden on their core nonstandard customers, who often have difficulty obtaining affordable auto insurance they need to drive legally. It's another example of technological innovation prodding insurers to change the way they study and establish risk.

Kelly Sheridan is the Staff Editor at Dark Reading, where she focuses on cybersecurity news and analysis. She is a business technology journalist who previously reported for InformationWeek, where she covered Microsoft, and Insurance & Technology, where she covered financial ... View Full Bio