Utilization-based insurance coverage is usually a good possibility for those who’re a secure, low-mileage driver. However some insurers can increase your fee in case your driving habits are thought-about dangerous.
That will help you discover one of the best usage-based (UBI) automotive insurance coverage, Yahoo Finance analyzed 20 main insurers primarily based on six key components: UBI enrollment low cost, most UBI low cost financial savings, whether or not dangerous driving with UBI can increase your premium, fee competitiveness, and total protection and low cost choices. Beneath are the businesses that topped our rankings.
Study extra: Greatest automotive insurance coverage firms total
Farm Bureau’s flagship telematics program, Driveology, has an computerized 10% enrollment low cost and the potential to earn as much as 50% off for secure driving — one of many highest most reductions in our evaluation. Simply as essential, Driveology doesn’t increase your fee for dangerous driving. Farm Bureau’s UBI packages could also be known as Drive Development or FB Drives in numerous states. Reductions and availability can differ by chapter.
Farm Bureau scored close to the highest of our evaluation for finest senior automotive insurance coverage.
Farm Bureau execs and cons
Professionals
Highest most UBI low cost
Doesn’t increase charges for dangerous driving
Aggressive full protection charges
Cons
Common price for full protection automotive insurance coverage: $151
Availability: Varies by state and regional chapter
Crash Community grade for claims dealing with: B+ (varies by chapter)
Protection choices: 6 choices
Obtainable reductions: 8 sorts
Digital expertise rating: 1.8 (out of 5)
Study extra: Farm Bureau automotive insurance coverage evaluate
USAA’s SafePilot program is second on our record of finest usage-based automotive insurance coverage. It features a 10% sign-up low cost and as much as a 30% renewal low cost primarily based on driving habits. Like Farm Bureau, USAA stands out as a result of SafePilot doesn’t increase charges for dangerous driving.
USAA was the highest insurer in our rankings for finest automotive insurance coverage for customer support.
USAA execs and cons
Professionals
Cons
Common price for full protection automotive insurance coverage: $168
Availability: Nationwide (however restricted to navy members, veterans, and eligible household)
Crash Community grade for claims dealing with: D+
Protection choices: 13 choices
Obtainable reductions: 15 sorts
Digital expertise rating: 4.75 (out of 5)
Study extra: USAA automotive insurance coverage evaluate
With Vacationers’ IntelliDrive user-based insurance coverage program, you possibly can obtain a ten% enrollment low cost and as much as 30% off at renewal for secure driving. Nevertheless, not like Farm Bureau and USAA, IntelliDrive can enhance your premium in case your driving habits are deemed dangerous. (There are just a few exceptions — in Washington, D.C., and states like Montana, North Carolina, and Virginia, dangerous driving gained’t increase your fee. And in some states, the utmost low cost could also be greater.)
Vacationers additionally scored among the many prime insurers in our evaluation for one of the best rideshare insurance coverage.
Vacationers execs and cons
Professionals
Cons
Common price for full protection automotive insurance coverage: $183
Availability: Nationwide
Crash Community grade for claims dealing with: C
Protection choices: 14 choices
Obtainable reductions: 14 sorts
Digital expertise rating: 4.65 (out of 5)
Study extra: Vacationers automotive insurance coverage evaluate
Nationwide’s SmartRide program ranked no 1 in JD Energy’s 2025 usage-based insurance coverage buyer satisfaction research. It additionally earned pretty excessive marks in our rating of one of the best usage-based insurance coverage choices. Drivers obtain a 5% enrollment low cost and might earn as much as 40% off at renewal primarily based on secure driving habits. Like Farm Bureau and USAA, SmartRide doesn’t increase your premium for dangerous driving. Nationwide additionally affords SmartMiles, a separate pay-per-mile program for low-mileage drivers.
Nationwide scored among the many prime insurers in our evaluation for the finest senior automotive insurance coverage.
Nationwide execs and cons
Professionals
Nice most UBI low cost
Doesn’t increase charges for dangerous driving
Presents separate pay-per-mile possibility
Cons
Common price for full protection automotive insurance coverage: $199
Availability: Nationwide
Crash Community grade for claims dealing with: C
Protection choices: 14 choices
Obtainable reductions: 9 sorts
Digital expertise rating: 4.6 (out of 5)
Study extra: Nationwide automotive insurance coverage evaluate
State Farm rounds out our record of one of the best usage-based automotive insurancecompanies. It has a ten% enrollment low cost, and you may earn as much as 30% off at renewal primarily based on components like braking, velocity, and mileage. Importantly, Drive Protected & Save won’t enhance your fee for dangerous driving. Your low cost can fluctuate from time period to time period primarily based in your driving information, however this system gained’t enhance your base fee.
State Farm additionally has a number of the finest automotive insurance coverage for customer support, in response to our evaluation.
State Farm execs and cons
Professionals
Cons
Common price for full protection automotive insurance coverage: $190
Availability: Nationwide
Crash Community grade for claims dealing with: C-
Protection choices: 13 choices
Obtainable reductions: 16 sorts
Digital expertise rating: 4.7 (out of 5)
Study extra: State Farm automotive insurance coverage evaluate
We evaluated 20 main insurance coverage firms to find out which provided one of the best usage-based insurance coverage packages. The highest spot went to Farm Bureau, which earned 5 stars (out of 5) because of its excessive most low cost and coverage of not elevating charges for dangerous driving. USAA adopted with 4.6 stars, then Vacationers (4.5), Nationwide (4.4), and State Farm (4.4).
See the usage-based insurance coverage star scores for all of the insurers we analyzed under.
Utilization-based automotive insurance coverage (UBI) packages use telematics expertise to trace your driving habits and modify your premium accordingly. To take part, you sometimes obtain a smartphone app or plug a tool into your automotive’s onboard diagnostics port. This system then displays components comparable to mileage, braking, acceleration, time of day pushed, velocity, and cellphone use whereas driving.
After a monitoring interval, you might earn a reduction primarily based in your driving rating. You sometimes get an enrollment low cost that takes impact instantly, with the choice to earn as much as the utmost low cost for secure driving. But it surely’s value noting — even a number of the finest UBI packages will enhance your fee for dangerous driving; it varies by insurer.
There are two foremost sorts of UBI packages:
Pay per mile: Your fee relies largely on what number of miles you drive.
Pay the way you drive: Your premium displays your driving habits, not simply mileage.
Automotive insurance coverage primarily based on utilization could also be value it for those who’re a low-mileage, typically secure driver and don’t thoughts sharing driving information. In the event you ceaselessly velocity, brake onerous, or drive late at evening, a conventional coverage may very well be a greater match.
Even for those who enroll in a usage-based program, you’ll nonetheless want the fitting core protection in place. Almost each insurer affords these core coverages:
Past the fundamentals, non-compulsory add-ons can strengthen your coverage. Relying on the insurer, you could possibly add:
Study extra: Commonest sorts of automotive insurance coverage defined
Throughout the 20 insurers evaluated, full-coverage charges diversified extensively. Some firms, excessive on our usage-based record, like Farm Bureau and USAA, have a tendency to cost at or under the nationwide common. Different prime UBI insurers, comparable to Nationwide and State Farm, typically fall nearer to the center of the pack, in response to information from the auto insurance coverage market Savvy Insurance coverage Options.
Study extra: Most cost-effective full protection automotive insurance coverage
Selecting the insurer that gives the most important UBI low cost doesn’t assure the bottom fee. Insurers calculate your beginning fee utilizing a mixture of private, car, and location-based components. The burden assigned to those components varies from insurer to insurer.
Listed below are the frequent components automotive insurance coverage suppliers use when calculating charges:
Study extra: Automotive insurance coverage charges are climbing. Listed below are 4 the explanation why and 11 methods to save lots of.
Listed below are ideas for locating one of the best usage-based auto insurance coverage.
Earlier than enrolling in any telematics program, be certain the underlying coverage works for you. UBI reductions apply to your premium, however they don’t change core coverages.
Additionally, examine whether or not the UBI program can increase your charges for dangerous driving. Some insurers solely provide reductions. However others will enhance your fee in the event that they deem you a dangerous driver.
As you evaluate automotive insurance coverage quotes for UBI, take a look at:
The enrollment low cost you get only for signing up
The utmost potential low cost
Whether or not dangerous driving can enhance your premium
How lengthy the monitoring interval lasts
An organization with a smaller most low cost however no penalty for dangerous driving might really feel safer than one providing a bigger upside with draw back danger.
Study extra: How a lot automotive insurance coverage protection do I want?
Each insurer tracks habits in a different way. Some weigh onerous braking closely. Others focus extra on mileage or cellphone use. Ask how your driving is scored and whether or not your information resets at renewal. If privateness issues to you, evaluate how the corporate shops and makes use of telematics information earlier than enrolling.
Some automotive insurance coverage reductions are routinely utilized as you fill out a quote kind, however others you must ask about. For instance, you normally have to talk to an agent to get a great scholar low cost or scholar away low cost. Asking an agent for those who’re eligible for reductions not already utilized may also help you discover extra methods to scale back your auto insurance coverage premiums.
Study extra: Greatest automotive insurance coverage reductions
UBI reductions can change from time period to time period. Test your renewal provide fastidiously to see how your driving rating affected your premium. In case your fee will increase, it might be time to match quotes once more or decide out of this system.
Additionally, for those who make adjustments through the yr, comparable to shopping for a automotive, be certain to regulate your coverage accordingly. You might also wish to store round once more and swap automotive insurance coverage firms if it is sensible on your funds.
Study extra: Does shopping for automotive insurance coverage on-line prevent cash?
Many use-based insurance coverage packages offer you a small enrollment low cost (usually 5% to fifteen%), with the choice to earn a most low cost of 25% to 50% for constantly secure driving. Your precise low cost is determined by your mileage and driving habits through the monitoring interval.
Sure. Allstate affords a telematics program known as Drivewise. In our evaluation, Allstate scored 2.1 stars for usage-based insurance coverage. Whereas it affords an enrollment low cost and the potential for financial savings, its middle-of-the-road reductions and skill to extend your fee for dangerous driving lowered its total rating.
That is determined by the insurer, however most usage-based packages monitor how a lot you drive and the way you drive. Widespread information factors may embody mileage, onerous braking, speedy acceleration, velocity, time of day you’re on the highway, and whether or not you employ your cellphone whereas driving. Your driving information is then used to calculate a rating that determines your low cost (or, in some instances, whether or not your fee may enhance).
Tim Manni edited this text.
To determine one of the best usage-based automotive insurance coverage packages, Yahoo Finance evaluated 20 main insurers that supply telematics-based insurance policies. Every firm was scored utilizing a standardized rubric targeted particularly on what issues most in a UBI program: how a lot it can save you, whether or not your fee can enhance for dangerous driving, and the way aggressive the insurer’s base pricing is.
All components had been transformed to a standardized level scale and mixed right into a composite rating. Most low cost potential and fee impression insurance policies carried the best weight, adopted by enrollment reductions, fee competitiveness, and total protection flexibility.
1. Most potential low cost: 30% of rating. We evaluated the very best publicly marketed low cost accessible via every insurer’s usage-based automotive insurance coverage program. Firms providing bigger most financial savings earned greater scores.
2. Charge impression coverage: 20% of rating. Insurers that don’t enhance premiums for dangerous driving acquired full credit score. Packages that will impose surcharges earned zero factors on this class.
3. Enrollment low cost: 15% of rating. Many UBI packages provide an computerized low cost only for signing up. Bigger enrollment reductions earned extra factors.
4. Charge competitiveness: 25% of rating. Common fee estimates had been supplied by Savvy Insurance coverage Options (“Savvy”), which operates a nationwide insurance coverage market and licensed company. Estimates are generated utilizing Savvy’s in-house machine studying fashions primarily based on greater than 3 million information factors throughout main insurers.
For this evaluation, charges had been modeled utilizing a normal “full protection” profile. Full protection automotive insurance coverage consists of legal responsibility insurance coverage, any state-required protection, plus collision and complete protection. Insurers with extra aggressive full protection charges earned greater scores.
5. Protection choices and total low cost breadth: 10% of rating. This rating additionally thought-about each the entire variety of protection choices and reductions accessible. Firms providing broader coverage flexibility and reductions acquired further factors.
Except said in any other case, the estimates above are supplied by Savvy Insurance coverage Options (“Savvy”). Savvy operates a market for house and auto insurance coverage, plus an company licensed in all 50 states. Estimates are generated utilizing Savvy’s in-house machine studying fashions primarily based on over 3 million information factors, and embody greater than 15 of the most important insurance coverage firms in Savvy’s nationwide information set. This consists of information from greater than 2 million insurance coverage accounts linked via Trellis Join, an in-house expertise permitting customers to “hyperlink” their insurance coverage accounts earlier than looking for insurance coverage, and tens of hundreds of insurance policies sure by Savvy’s personal brokers. It takes into consideration a myriad of things to create predictions, comparable to:
Policyholder age
Variety of autos
ZIP code
Automobile age
Insurer
… and extra
Savvy creates estimates by working fashions in opposition to a number of inputs to the parameters of curiosity. For example, the “teen driver” estimates had been created by adjusting the policyholder age enter into the pricing mannequin whereas holding all different variables regular from the baseline for “full protection.” The fashions allow hyper-personalized estimates that keep in mind a plethora of person attribute permutations (e.g., teen drivers in particular states, teen drivers with new autos, teen drivers in particular states with new autos) to offer people with a novel and tailor-made expertise. The charts above are a subset of the sorts of personalization Savvy can do.
The next are definitions utilized by Savvy when offering its fee estimates for numerous sorts of protection.
Full protection automotive insurance coverage: A coverage with complete, collision, and legal responsibility protection.
Common policyholder: A 48-year-old driver who owns a 13-year-old car and lives in an average-income ZIP code.
Senior driver: A 70-year-old policyholder with full protection automotive insurance coverage.
Good driver: Drivers throughout all protection sorts, car sorts, and places who haven’t any tickets, accidents or DUIs.
