As a participant in the Snapshot Test Drive Program, I will receive gift cards to facilitate my driving and tests of the device as well as branded merchandise.
Progressive have been my auto insurance company for almost the entire time that I have been driving – about 7 years at this point! I’ve shopped around a lot, but Progressive remain the most competitive for insuring my particular vehicle, so I’ve stayed with them. I’ve also been very satisfied with the service they provide, which in my experience has been efficient and helpful with no problems. I can’t say that for all of the companies I’ve gotten utilities or insurance from so obviously that’s a big plus!
So when I was invited to join the Snapshot Test Drive Program from Progressive, I was intrigued. Snapshot is Progressive’s new device that allows customers to actually track their driving habits in order to potentially qualify for lower insurance rates. You plug a small device into your car’s diagnostic port, and drive as normal for 30 days. Snapshot tracks your progress by ranking how often you use hard brakes, accelerate rapidly, and how much you drive. You get results delivered in real-time via their online portal, and at the end of the month they provide you with a customized quote based on your driving performance, up to 30% off.
Now, my 1960 Mercury Comet doesn’t even have a diagnostic port, so Jai volunteered to test this out instead. 😉 This was actually perfect timing, as Jai has been meaning to take the time to get some new insurance quotes to see if he can’t get a better policy than what he has. You see, we both have separate cars and separate insurance policies, and he’s with a different company than Progressive. So this seemed like a great opportunity for him to get a quote and see if it’s lower than what he is paying currently – if it is, he plans to switch! And if anyone should qualify for their highest discount, it should be Jai. He is the safest, most cautious driver that I know. (Incidentally, he was also the person who taught me how to drive, since I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was 21!) He also doesn’t drive as much as other people since he works at home. I’m excited to see what Snapshot comes up with and if it can save Jai some money on his insurance policy! We plugged the device into his car earlier in the week, so after the 30 days are up, we’ll report back and let you know how it went and what kind of a quote we were offered.
So bearing the “Snapshot” theme in mind, Jai and I thought we’d share a few photos with you to give you a visual snapshot of what our days look like when we’re driving around taking care of errands!
On Monday afternoon, we set out to take care of a few errands. We always try to plan car trips efficiently, which will be a point in our favor with Snapshot! Here we are, getting ready to leave in our new driveway!
First stop: Our respective banks! We both had items to deposit, bills to pay, and paperwork to collect. We try to “Carpool” our errands together to save on time and fuel!
Next, we headed down to the beach so I could take my physiotherapy walk on the promenade. It was a beautiful summer day.
I stayed buttoned-up in a long-sleeved shirt and pants in an attempt to protect my sunburned shoulders! I could still feel the sun beating down on me and I ended up cutting the walk short because my burn was hurting and I didn’t want to make it worse.
Jai strikes his best “Lewis and Clark” pose. 😉
After a somewhat shorter walk than usual, we headed to Safeway to pick up some groceries and round out our errands for the day. As we drove around, occasionally we would hear the Snapshot device make a small beeping noise. It blows my mind to think that something so small can track how you drive and transmit that data in real-time! What a cool time we live in!
If you’d like more information on how you can try Snapshot, click here to visit Progressive’s website. We’ll be following up with our results at the end of the 30 days, and we also have a fun swag package that we’ll be giving away soon, so stay tuned!
I am really thinking about switching to Progressive. My son has Progressive and has the best rates. And I would love the opportunity to try Snapshot to lower my rates. I just need to find out if they also carry homeowners insurance since I get a discount when I have both my car and house insurance with the same company.
Kim – they do indeed offer homeowner’s insurance. I’ve never insured my home with them, because for some reason, it has always been MORE expensive for me if I wanted to put both home and auto on one, with every company I’ve checked with. I know, weird, right? So, I’ve always had my car and home split between different companies.
What an interesting idea! I try and consolidate our errands too. I like the spiffy red car 🙂
This sounds very neat, especially if it can save some cash!
What an awesome device & that’s great that Progressive is taking such measures to reward good drivers! I always hated that insurance companies use statistics- my fiancee is a driver for a living, and such a safe one, yet because he’s a male under 25 we pay SO much for insurance. We’ll have to look into this!!
my commute home from work is non-stop starting and stopping so I hard break a lot so I am not sure this would save me a dime but it might be worth giving a try to see what happens. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to seeing your results in 30 days.
I think this sounds neat! I have never had progressive as my agency but I will have to look into this!
Neat! I’ve seen the commercials for the Snapshot, but I didn’t really understand what it was all about. Great review! But wait a minute – you’ve been driving for ONLY 7 years?!
I like Progressive too and I loved your photos.
Hi everybody!
Shell – I know exactly what you mean!
Rob – I hear ya, those stop and start commutes make hard breaking unavoidable!
Joanna – That’s right! I’m 28 now and got my license a few months after I turned 21. 🙂 My parents didn’t drive or have a vehicle for most of my childhood so I didn’t have the opportunity to learn at 16 as most do – I started to learn as soon as I was living on my own.
Love it! Combining errands is really helpful.
PS – always love the great pics in your posts!
I have seen the commercials for snapshot .. I used to use progessive for car insurance but switched .. not really for any particular reason. Glad to hear someone I know is trying snapshot out!