’s Tim Mullaney reports that electric vehicle owners could see significant savings as more automotive companies embrace usage-based plans based on driver data.
Tesla’s company-backed insurance has launched in five states with hopes for rollouts in 45 states by the end of 2022. Tesla could insure up to 300,000 of its cars by 2025 and manufacturer-backed insurance plans could save the consumer quite a bit on already costly to insure electric vehicles.
GM seems to be following in Tesla’s footsteps, with ambitions for more insurance revenue since reviving its GMAC insurance brand as OnStar Insurance in 2020.
Creating a one-stop shop
Automakers have long offered financing services to their customers, but the trend of establishing or reviving insurance offerings—in many cases usage-based—is becoming more popular. You can thank the growing amount of data your vehicle collects about you for that.
GM hopes that its insurance offering using driver-generated data will enable the company to process claims faster than is currently normal in the insurance industry.
in an age when the data their vehicles collect about their consumers’ driving habits makes it more than feasible. In short, companies can measure this data to award better rates to safer drivers, and vice versa. And this is without the aid of a tracked phone app or OBDII dongle.
For electric vehicle owners, that could lead to big savings.
Why are electric vehicles more expensive to insure?
EVs are notoriously expensive to insure compared with gas cars, as electric powertrains typically offer more instantaneous torque off the line. They’re also pretty advanced, with fewer mechanics qualified to fix them.
Their advantage is that they offer an unprecedented data collection platform that would give an automaker additional insight—something that could justify establishing a new revenue stream and entice customers to take a swim in it.
While automakers are saying consumers are getting the best deal in their one-stop shop—as many sales pitches are obligated to make you believe—it’s still a smart practice to shop around.
customers save an average of $887 a year to insure their vehicle. If you’re deterred by the work of gathering quotes and you’d rather leave it to someone else, the Jerry app collects quotes from over 50 top insurance companies, like Nationwide, Allstate, Safeco, Progressive, and Travelers, in seconds! Jerry even helps cancel your old policy once you’ve made your pick.
Once you download Jerry, just answer a handful of questions that will take you roughly 45 seconds to complete and you’ll immediately get car insurance quotes for coverage similar to your current plan.
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