Exp w/ Reported Annual Mileage For Auto Insurance

[The Critic]

Insurance use annual mileage as one of the factors in pricing. They usually have us self-report when we sign-up for the policy. I have heard that some companies make you self-report each year but I have never known of anyone who has had to do that.

However, one of my co-workers said that one year his insurer sent him a letter stating that the mileage being accumulated on his wife's car was not in-line with the miles per year amount that he had initially reported. My understanding is that his insurer said his wife's car probably had "X" miles on it and the figure was fairly accurate.

This has made me wonder if insurance companies are using carfax a tool. If your service center has a carfax link with their shop management software, each service is automatically reported to carfax and will show up on there. Obviously this will list the date of service and the mileage.

So, I was wondering if anyone has had their insurer contact them stating that they are not reporting an accurate miles/yr figure for their vehicle, and if so, if you have any ideas as to where they are obtaining that info.

 

[JHZR2]

My insurance sends a letter asking if/what has changed year to year.

Seems to me that if companies are checking records for driving infractions, that they could also check DMV records. In states where inspections occur, they could easily get the info.

But I've never been officially questioned.

IMO its risk. If you buy a new car and tell them it gets 5k/yr, but then after two years it is in an accident with a claim, and the car has 28k... I'd imagine that some companies would make that grounds for denying coverage...

 

[mechanicx]

I get the letters asking to update the info every year or so, In my state the milage is never reported to anyone except when the car is titled. And even then if you are titling a car and reprt the milage lower than actual no one really checks it.

 

[david_ES2]

Have another cluster gauge assembly and switch them out....nobody will ever know lol

 

[hypervish]

Originally Posted By: david_ES2
Have another cluster gauge assembly and switch them out....nobody will ever know lol


Newer cars and even some old cars store the miles in the ECU.

 

[01rangerxl]

I've never been asked directly about it except for when I sign up for a policy.

I did update my mileage when I had Geico. I anticipated that I would be driving about 8K miles a year more than what I initially told them. They updated it without any questions and my rate actually stayed the same.

 

[rjundi]

A car fax tool may very well work or similar database.

Emissions/safety testing usually reports the mileage to a central database and is reported to those central databases.

 

[KrisZ]

My insurance asked me what is my daily commute to work, not annual mileage, when I was getting my policy set up, so that is all they know. I never tell them what my odo reads.

 

[Donald]

I ignore the renewal questionnaires and the insurance companies do not seem to care. In NY every inspection (yearly) is reported to DMV and CarFax can pull it from DMV. But the insurance companies have to pay to pull the info and if you give them no reason to pull it they will not pull it. And save the $$.

 

[Barkleymut]

My insurance co just asked about my daily commute mileage. Some may be fishing for more info but I doubt that is a trend that will last.

 

[Smoky14]

Isn't it wonderful to live in the computer age, automatic crash recording, cell phone location, ins companys check you credit rating through a third party no less. Anything to be able to deny coverage and not have to take the blame.
makes me wonder if it will ever end or just keep getting worse, andn then they wonder why some poor guy went postal.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
If your service center has a carfax link with their shop management software, each service is automatically reported to carfax and will show up on there.


I don't have a Carfax link, so therefore, my service center doesn't have a Carfax link. He he.

Joking aside, our auto insurance (actually, pretty much everything we own) is with USAA. I have to give an annual mileage when a vehicle is added to the policy, but that's about it. And at least with USAA, the annual mileage has an infinitesimally small effect on the premium. I changed my '97 Cadillac from 10,000 miles to 1,000 miles per annum after I stopped using it as a daily driver (with no other changes to the policy, I had previously added my then-new daily driver to the policy), and my premium did not change. I'm sure they use ranges. Maybe if I had changed it to 999 miles instead of 1,000, it would have changed. Or maybe if I went from 10,001 miles to 1,000, it would have changed.

 

[AuthorEditor]

One of the things Progressive's SnapShot does is report how many miles you actually drive and at what hours of the day. I find it rather creepy.

 

[ffhdriver]

Changed my insurance from 7500 miles or more per year to less than 7500 miles per year and premium went down $10 per month.

 

[widman]

My insurance companies require satellite tracking on anything newer than 5 years. But don't ask mileage.

They also don't insure my classics. No one will insure anything over 15 years old since they say parts are too hard to get.

 

[bdcardinal]

We have AAA full coverage on the Volvo and the 2000 Grand Marquis. We get a letter once a year around July asking the current mileage on both cars to check what coverage category we need to be in. I don't lie and they actually reduce what they charge since both cars average less than 12k miles a year.

 

[opus1]

The Ranger is a low-annual-mileage vehicle and every now and then State Farm sends me a letter asking me to tell them the current mileage.

The Cobalt is also low-mileage and is enrolled in State Farm's program where they use my OnStar info to track mileage. So far, the savings in insurance for one, 6-month premium almost completely pays for the year's OnStar subscription (the Safe-and-Sound or whatever the basic subscription is called).

 

[MNgopher]

Both my previous insurer (Allstate) and current (MetLife)have requested mileages from time to time. I'm fully honest with my usages so I have no problem reporting my mileages, as they are fully consistent with how I've reported my usage. When I switched the usages around, it made a very small change to the rate I was charged (less than $5 a year!).

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: AuthorEditor
One of the things Progressive's SnapShot does is report how many miles you actually drive and at what hours of the day. I find it rather creepy.


One of the reasons (besides costing MUCH more than my current insurer) I avoid Progressive like the plague.
That a company even offers (or thinks to offer) this type of 'spyware' COMPLETELY turns me off to them!

The ultimate 'big brother' ploy as far as I'm concerned.

'Flo' can take that OBD2 plug in and you know what she can do with it.

 

[Rand]

from what I understand it isnt satellite tracking its an accelerometer

(progressive snapshot)