We tried Snapshot out and here’s what we found.
In a word, yes. For me, anyway. After using Progressive’s Snapshot, my premiums were reduced by $30 over six months. And even more than the discount, I learned a few things that will save me money, both on car insurance and in general.
Snapshot was delivered in this box, complete with instructions. Photo: Scotty Reiss
How Progressive Snapshot Works
Progressive, like many other insurance companies including State Farm and USAA, offer a tracking device that plugs into your car’s OBD II (onboard diagnostics II) port or offers a phone app that tracks your driving.
Once Progressive Snapshot is plugged in or downloaded, it collects basic performance data and your location via GPS. It sends that data to Progressive through cell signals and a report is created. It takes about 6 month of data for Progressive to determine how the report will affect your policy, for good or bad.
Further reading: How to save on your next car by buying through Costco
Snapshot’s Instant Discount—Get This Just By Signing Up
I was offered Progressive Snapshot when I renewed my family’s car insurance. We have three drivers— one in college— and two cars. I opted to put Snapshot only in my car, and to use the plug-in device rather than the app since I frequently drive cars other than my own. By opting for Snapshot I immediately got a discount, a multi-vehicle discount, of $25.
The Snapshot device, which plugged right into the OBDII port. Photo: Scotty Reiss
What Snapshot Measures, and What it Doesn’t
The device easily installed; I simply pulled the cover off the OBDII port and plugged it in. Once it was installed, and every time I started the car, it gave me a quick double beep to signal that it was working. It was a good reminder to know that I was being tracked on each trip.
While it’s possible for Snapshot to track where you go, when you go, your speed, lane changes, whether you roll through stop signs and more, including when you break the speed limit, it doesn’t. Progressive only measures 3 things:
Hard braking, fast starts, amount of time driven and time of day you drive. That’s it.
Progressive does collect other data for its own internal assessment, and if you ask the company to provide more data for, say, defending yourself after a crash, they will try to accommodate. And, the site says they will not use data collected by Snapshot in assessing a claim if your car is damaged in an incident.
Read more: How to budget for a new car
The Snapshot device in my car. Photo: Scotty Reiss
Who Snapshot is Good For, and Who It’s not
I decided to put Progressive Snapshot on my car because I drive very little and almost never in the middle of the night. I decided NOT to put it on the family car because my daughter is a new driver and I didn’t want to stress her out with the monitoring or risk having our insurance go up from a few rookie moves behind the wheel. Also, the family car is driven a lot more, so that might impact the rate that results from Snapshot.
Snapshot is great for drivers who are good learners from external input; if you recognize the message the beeps send and try not to trigger them, this could be a great tool to help improve your driving.
Snapshot is not great for cars that log a lot of miles, have a variety of drivers or younger drivers who might inadvertently increase your insurance rates with a lot of miles driven and a lot of hard stops. Progressive says that 2 in 10 drivers actually increase their insurance rate after using Snapshot.
Further reading: 5 apps you should have on your phone
My Experience With Progressive Snapshot
It took me a while to install the device once it arrived — I’d been traveling and kept forgetting to install it— but Progressive sent me an email reminding me to activate it. Once installed, and knowing the device was measuring my braking, it only took me about 10 minutes to get my first warning. I rolled up to a stop sign and pushed down hard on the brake to come to a complete stop and got a quick ‘beep beep’ from the device. Oops.
I tried more gingerly braking that day and a few times the device beeped at me even if I approached a stop sign or intersection slowly; it was that last few feet that caught the attention of the device. But when I was more considerate about my braking, not jamming on the brake in those last few feet, there was no beep. ????
In the 6 months I had the device I noticed the beeping lessening. I became sensitive to it and learned to adapt my driving so as not to be punished. Still, I worried that Progressive was going to raise my rates.
I only drive locally, so I didn’t put a lot of miles on my car during my time with Snapshot, and I don’t typically drive between 11PM and 6AM, so those factors were working in my favor.
My Snapshot discount. Photo: Scotty Reiss
Getting My Real Discount… Finally
Since you have to create a driving history for Progressive to consider, it takes about 6 months to get your discount. At the end of the insurance term, or about 5 months later, I got a prepaid mailing box in the mail along with a letter asking me to return the device. Once I returned it my results were validated—meaning since Progressive got it back they would calculate my savings or penalty.
I saved $30 on my next 6 month policy.
Not too bad for the minor inconvenience, however this is much less than the $130 Progressive claims to be average. And considering how the device directed my attention to being a safer driver, even better.
I can start the process over again and order another Snapshot to try to lower my insurance further. And I might do this; it seems I just left $100 on the table!
Scotty Reiss
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They just suddenly reduced grades for a bunch of people. First said it was a mistake and now say it’s how it should be, to go from b+ to c overnight it obviously not right.
I got hard brake taking off at a street light on icy hill in a prius. Called them, got connected with a snapshot technician who deleted whole day of my trips from the record. After five month had A+rating on one car and B+ on another that resulted 21% in premium discount. However they raised my rate by 21% for my renewal policy, switch to milewise program with Allstate. Snapshot told me I drive 48 miles per week in each car.
I had this device for six months. For me this is a piece of sheet. It got me for*Hardbreaking* so many times, some times several a day. Magiority of them stopping on red traffic lights. Most of the times I was driving with the speed limit or 5 miles over the limit. Lights turns from Green to Yellow, I start applying the breaks gently. Stop on the stop line, before the intersection and *BEEP* from device. Hard stoping. The only way to avoid the beep is to cross on red. No thanks. The device is unacurent and annoying.
Sounds about as horrible as I could imagine. If they were trying to promote safer driving, they’d offer beep-only models that don’t “collect” the data. They don’t, because they don’t care how safely people drive *in general*. They only care about maximizing profit by *charging* unsafe drivers more money. Not only do they collect a lot of data – where you are and when – but they could share that data with “affiliates”. And, there are issues with how they use the data aside from determine rates. They could use it to reduce claims, like saying you were at fault or driving unsafely during an accident. And they could drop your insurance not only based on driving habits, but where you are located. What does the data say about safety? Surely something, but not as much as you might think, because the insurance companies don’t just save by adjusting rates, they also save by adjustibg *claims*. Many companies say they have the right to use the data without limit for determining claims, and those that don’t say that, aren’t forbidden from it.When it comes time to file a claim, they could use the data against you – even if the other driver is the one filing a claim. The more you’re at fault, the less they pay, and there’s nothing that says they need to use it for your benefit! Plus, they can’t tell the context. If you brake hard, was it to avoid rear-ending someone or to avoid hitting a child? So, the upside to giving out a gold mine of data is – under ideal circumstances – $5 a month, and learning to not brake as hard at stop signs. Which doesn’t affect safety or mileage in the least. There are companies willing to pay far more than a bi-annual $30 for your medical data.
They don’t collect location data, it isn’t a GPS. I’ve had it get me a couple times on a nice gradual brake because I hit a bump and it bounced the accelerometer in the device, but it really isn’t usually unbearably sensitive. In my experience, lots of people just don’t realize that they brake harder in the last few feet of a nice gradual slowdown. It doesn’t measure your speed, it measures acceleration and deceleration. Doesn’t matter if you’re going 3mph, if you slam on the break and the car jerks to a stop, it’ll beep at you. And as such, they can’t claim you were driving recklessly, because OF COURSE you’re going to brake hard if you’re about to collide with something, and an impact will jostle the accelerometer.
Have had mine for about a month, works great if you are a Sunday driver or elderly. Biggies thing I learned is don’t hard brake at the very end of stopping.
Simply put its a scam. Class action in waiting. They advertise discounts but don’t release stats on percentage of drivers who actually earn one…because I’m guessing the majority have rates increase. Gentle uphill breaks trigger beeps….hard downhill ones don’t. “Rate of deceleration” glitch..but in the end it only gives them a reason to increase you.
Don’t get this device. It’s not worth the invasion of your privacy. I’ve only had it for less than a month and can see it’s going to be a long 6months with this thing monitoring my driving. What a mistake! I miss the days I could just get in my car and not feel like anyone or anything is keeping tabs on my breaking or turning. I don’t enjoy driving at all with this. I’ve already learned how to adjust for it to not beep and honestly I was not a bad driver at all prior. It’s just this device is extremely sensitive and does a lot of false positives. I get so angry when it beeps. Like I said it’s making driving my car a nuisance. No thanks. Give me my freedom and privacy back. It’s not worth the $20 a month or whatever I will save down the road. Also, it made me start to think about what privacy means on a broader spectrum than just insurance. I read that this could one day be required and that’s a scary scenario to incision. No thanks.
So cancel it and send it back? You can do that.
This thing is dangerous. I feel like Pavlov’s dog, trained to not use my brakes for fear of setting off the beeper. I’ve already ran a red light instead of stopping because I would have used my brakes too forcefully for the tracker. How does this improve driver safety? Would it be too conspiratorial to think this is designed to get me into an accident so my insurance can be jacked up?
I am shocked at how sensitive this little Snapshot device is! I am an old lady and poke around. I brake slowly and still get beeps. It drives me crazy. Is this a trap to raise rates? I have done this in the past and got an 18 % decrease in insurance. This time, I don’t see that happening! It is far more sensitive!
Total baloney. Our daily reports were outstanding and at the end of the painful, anxious 6 months our final report said that we saved $66. Shockingly our rates went up almost $50! I’d ike to know where this mysterious $66 discount is applied! In my opinion this is a scam.