Tesla Insurance - Are they watching me?

[Johnstac]

I have had Tesla insurance now for about 6 months or so. I began wondering if having Tesla insurance gives Tesla the right to monitor your driving habits as a method of determining rates. Simply put, if I have a lead foot but have no tickets, would Tesla have the right to increase my rates based on what they observe? I have no reason to believe they do. I’m simply posing the question because as far as I know, there is no other auto manufacturer that is also an auto insurer. And certainly no other company that can monitor every aspect of my driving like Tesla can. Paranoid much?

 

[Tiger]

When you mess up, Tesla can probably decline any coverage by claiming gross negligence, having 4D video as proof. I wouldn’t trust sharing my driving habits with any insurance company

 

[jeremymc7]

Question is did you read all the fine print on the website and in the contract. I would think there would have to be a reasonable expectation for them to at least disclose if not you to approve. With other insurance this is done for discounted rates, but also gives them information to use against you in a claim.

 

[Rockster]

Musk has talked about the ability for them to very closely tie an individual’s rates to the individual’s driving habits, specifically because they can know every aspect of that person’s behavior behind the wheel; however, I have no idea where they are on that spectrum of monitoring and rate adjustment. At this point it might still be just talk, but based on his comments it seems certain that they’re going to end up there.

 

[N1L CO2]

I don't understand folks who even ponder about giving up privacy for a couple of hundred dollars a year on insurance premium. We're giving up a LOT of private data as it is with Tesla, why do you want to be "forced" into giving up more? Don't even get me started on those ODBII modules that a certain company makes you put on your car to offer cheaper rates.

 

[CyberGus]

I don't understand folks who even ponder about giving up privacy for a couple of hundred dollars a year on insurance premium

I don't understand folks who would rather have so-called "privacy" instead of money? I mean, what are you doing in your car that you don't want Elon to know about, hmmm...?

Seriously though, the same process Tesla uses to train the autonomous AI could be used to train a digital actuary that could correlate risk with driving habits. Isn't that far more equitable than basing insurance rates on broad demographics?

 

[N1L CO2]

I don't understand folks who would rather have so-called "privacy" instead of money? I mean, what are you doing in your car that you don't want Elon to know about, hmmm...?

Seriously though, the same process Tesla uses to train the autonomous AI could be used to train a digital actuary that could correlate risk with driving habits. Isn't that far more equitable than basing insurance rates on broad demographics?

LOL, point taken. I just don't like any more "hooks" into my personal driving habits/life than I already have. I know that every auto maker is doing it with some variation of "connected service". However, the data collectors always hide the true motive of collecting personal data under the shroud of some financial benefit or improving AI. That's the part I don't appreciate when in fact, they use that personal data for targeted marketing making them all the $$$. I try to keep myself under the radar. No IG account, no LinkedIn account no Twitter.

 

[FredMertz]

I don't understand folks who even ponder about giving up privacy for a couple of hundred dollars a year on insurance premium. We're giving up a LOT of private data as it is with Tesla, why do you want to be "forced" into giving up more? Don't even get me started on those ODBII modules that a certain company makes you put on your car to offer cheaper rates.

Do you use Waze, Google Maps, or have location turned on your mobile and use any of the thousands of apps that track your location and sell it?

If so, the horse has left the barn.

Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They’re Not Keeping It Secret (Published 2018)

 

[TxPanda]

I don't understand folks who would rather have so-called "privacy" instead of money? I mean, what are you doing in your car that you don't want Elon to know about, hmmm...?

Seriously though, the same process Tesla uses to train the autonomous AI could be used to train a digital actuary that could correlate risk with driving habits. Isn't that far more equitable than basing insurance rates on broad demographics?

Ah the good old, “nothing to hide” argument.

 

[CyberGus]

Ah the good old, “nothing to hide” argument.

Not exactly. The expectation of privacy should be very low when driving on public streets. I'm always amused by people that talk loudly on their cell (or even worse, on speaker) and then hit me with an icy glare for "eavesdropping" on their conversation.

 

[Spacep0d]

Tesla could monitor us, but will they and would they raise our rates for 'no reason' (per us) even if it is 'justified' per their observation? I think a customer whose rates were raised due to this type of data would be pretty freaked out by it in many cases. I can't help but think that it would be bad for business if there were no change to one's driving record.

Drivers with clean records have the upper hand (and lower claims, most likely) and it would be ill-advised to dissuade their otherwise loyal patronage.

Why would Tesla sell cars that are 'quick' and also penalize us for using that quickness now and again? That's in part what sells Teslas!

'Watch me walk this Challenger.'
*Walks the Challenger, changes perceptions one observer at a time about Teslas and EVs.*

A lot of people understand how quick Teslas are. A lot don't, methinks. THEY GON' LEARN!

Using one of those driving monitors from a non-Tesla insurance company? Now that is crazy!

 

[N1L CO2]

Do you use Waze, Google Maps, or have location turned on your mobile and use any of the thousands of apps that track your location and sell it?

If so, the horse has left the barn.

Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They’re Not Keeping It Secret (Published 2018)

I do use Google Maps but not Waze. Even then, I take the time to tick all the check boxes in Google settings to make sure I am not giving up anything I don't want to. I try to stay away from crowd-based data collecting apps.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Will they raise my rates for going 42 on the street my car thinks is a 25 even though it’s really a 35?

 

[N1L CO2]

Will they raise my rates for going 42 on the street my car thinks is a 25 even though it’s really a 35?

Haha, they'll just probably put you on a naughty list. Let's just say you won't be in the list of selected few to test out the FSD next week!

 

[CyberGus]

Will they raise my rates for going 42 on the street my car thinks is a 25 even though it’s really a 35?

You're assuming that speed correlates with risk. I'm sure it's one of many factors.

This is exactly my point about AI-driven metrics. By tracking the behaviors of a large set of drivers and correlating with outcomes, it should be possible to assess risk, free of bias.

 

[OnyxP85D]

My rates with Tesla Ins for the first 6 months were $357 per month for a Model S 85D & Model S P85D. The next term of 6 months for the same coverage and both vehicles went down to $286 per month. I also tend to drive with a heavy foot from a complete stop. Maybe I'm just lucky? Or it could be possible its due to no accidents and the combination of whats happening with COVID? Not sure but I can see the argument about getting into an accident and Tesla having any and all information with the attempt to deny coverage if an accident was your mistake.

 

[TxPanda]

Not exactly. The expectation of privacy should be very low when driving on public streets. I'm always amused by people that talk loudly on their cell (or even worse, on speaker) and then hit me with an icy glare for "eavesdropping" on their conversation.

Walking and talking on a public street isn't the same as the interior of a private car parked on private property. That is like saying you shouldn't expect privacy in your home because you're in city limits. But to each their own.

 

[qdeathstar]

With the fsd package do you even need insurance?

 

[CyberGus]

Walking and talking on a public street isn't the same as the interior of a private car parked on private property. That is like saying you shouldn't expect privacy in your home because you're in city limits. But to each their own.

I'm not sure what actuarial data can be collected from a parked car.