What’s trending in car insurance?

This is the point in time in which the way we view car insurance has started to change and grow.

With the boom of technology, new ways of obtaining and continuing car insurance have started to branch out and grow.

Not only that but as we continue to grow as a nation, new laws around car insurance are proposed. Then we have to start considering the emerging car insurance competition, all fighting to get our business.

In this article, we’re going to break down some of the trending things in car insurance you’re going to start seeing in the future!

If you want to compare your insurance rates today, you can use our FREE online tool. All you need is your zip code to get started.

Trending Car Insurance Laws

As we continue to grow as a country, car insurance laws will continue to grow alongside it. In this section, we’ll discuss some of the up and coming car insurance laws that you’ll likely start to see soon.

Legalization of Marijuana

The legalizing of marijuana is a relatively recent development, and only a few states in the nation have fully legalized the substance, which you can see in the table below.

As such, lawmakers are starting to create laws to put into place around driving while under the influence of marijuana. After all, since it has only recently been legalized in some locations, there are not many studies telling us exactly how you will be affected while behind the wheel.

Currently, there are the following marijuana-influenced driving laws in place according to Responsibility:

Going Green

The push to go green has skyrocketed in the past few years as citizens not just in the nation, but across the globe attempt to decrease their carbon footprint.

There are several different ways in which car insurance providers are trying to help customers “go green”, but we’ll specifically talk about the two most common types.

One way is through something known as usage-based insurance (UBI).

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC):

“Also known as telematics, usage-based insurance (UBI) uses technology to track driving habits through smart phones or devices installed in a vehicle.”

So basically how this works is that you attach a device to your vehicle, and it sends that data to your insurance provider, who then adjusts your insurance rates based on how far you tend to commute on a regular basis.

Another way in which car insurance providers are helping customers go green is through hybrid vehicles or alternative fuel vehicles.

What are some examples of hybrid/alternative fuel vehicles?

• Hybrid:
  • Hybrid electric
  • Plug-in hybrid electric
  • All-electric vehicles
• Alternative or Alternate Fuel:
  • Propane
  • Natural gas
  • Hydrogen
  • Ethanol
  • Biodiesel

So if you purchase (or already own) a vehicle of this type, most insurance providers will offer discounts.

The following companies currently offer this type of discount:

Car Insurance Based on Demographic Data

Not only are car insurance companies picking up on the discrepancies of rates based on demographics, but so are lawmakers.

An example of how this would work is if we were to look at the demographic data in one particular state, in this example, we’ll pick Delaware:

As you can see, there’s a pretty huge difference between not only gender but also marital status and most notably, age.

Many states across the nation are starting to prohibit car insurance companies from using this kind of data when calculating insurance rates for customers.

For instance, there are now currently seven states in the nation that have outlawed rates based on gender.

Finances and Security

In the past few decades, new and innovative technologies have arisen for both business and for pleasure. With the rise of many of these technologies, security has become problematic, as a lot of people these days can hack your data with the click of a button.

For security with your car insurance, you’ll likely start seeing the use of blockchain to help keep your data safe.

But what is blockchain and how would it help with your car insurance information?

According to Block Geeks, blockchain can be defined in the following way:

“A blockchain is, in the simplest of terms, a time-stamped series of an immutable record of data that is managed by cluster of computers not owned by any single entity. Each of these blocks of data (i.e. block) are secured and bound to each other using cryptographic principles (i.e. chain).”

So how would this help you? By decentralizing information, data is nearly impossible for criminals to hack. Making the information you have to provide for your car insurance (you know things like your address, credit card information, etc.) safer.

This same rationale is why something known as Cryptocurrency is expected to explode in popularity.

Cryptocurrency is essentially digital cash, and it was designed in part to help deter cyber theft.

These two financial and security features are still up and coming, and as they are such new forms of technology, you can expect an insurgence of legal regulations around them.

Smartphones

Since the dawn of technology, the rise in smartphone use has skyrocketed over the past few decades.

With this rise, unfortunately, has come with the rise in distracted driving-related fatalities. It’s become almost epidemic in the number of deaths associated with it.

If you want to know what your state’s specific distracted-driving-related laws are, check out the table below according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS):

Trending Car Insurance Technologies

Technology has been ever increasing in complexity and usage over the past decade. Technologies we never thought possible are now commonplace in everyday society.

With this, there are some trending car insurance technologies that you’ll probably be seeing soon, if not already.

Driverless Cars

New technology comes out constantly in this day and age, and the idea of having cars that drive themselves isn’t a new idea.

We’ve seen it in TV shows and movies for many years, but it hasn’t been until recently that this type of futuristic technology has been available.

From cars that are now starting to drive themselves via auto-detection technology, to cars that parallel park themselves.

According to the Insurance Journal:

“Auto transportation is currently in the lower levels of autonomy now; Tesla is considered a level 2 on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 1-5 scale, which means a driver should still be fully engaged in the operation of the vehicle. It’s expected that by 2035, 23 million vehicles on the road will be a level 4 vehicle, according to the Stevens Institute of Technology.”

So you can definitely expect there to not only be changes to car insurance requirements to meet this new technology but to laws across the nation.

If you would like to know what the current autonomous vehicle laws are across the nation, check out the table below from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS):

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be defined as an object having the ability to learn from experiences and adapt to those experiences.

The future is now, so the development of this kind of technology is up and coming. You can expect to start seeing it in things ranging from your vehicle, to even the way you interact with your insurance company.

According to One Inc. Systems:

“The insurance industry is already taking advantage of some AI capabilities, such web chatbots for online customer communications, image analysis for claims investigations, and risk analysis for underwriting.”

So you can expect that such Artificial Intelligence technologies, some of which are already being utilized by car insurance companies, will continue to grow and develop.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Another technological advance to emerge in more recent years, the idea of utilizing the Internet of Things (IOT) has come to a head.

But what exactly is the Internet of Things (IOT)?

Well, Forbes puts it best in the following statement:

“Simply put, this is the concept of basically connecting any device with an on and off switch to the Internet (and/or to each other). This includes everything from cellphones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, lamps, wearable devices and almost anything else you can think of.”

But how could this kind of technology affect us in terms of car insurance? Well, Forbes also states that:

“On a broader scale, the IoT can be applied to things like transportation networks: “smart cities” which can help us reduce waste and improve efficiency for things such as energy use; this helping us understand and improve how we work and live.”

The easier things like transportation can be done, you can bet those car insurance companies, and even lawmakers, are going to jump on this kind of technology.

Privacy

As all of these new predictive and advanced technologies start to emerge, some people have questioned exactly how private we can keep our information.

Some of the other technological advances we have mentioned in previous sections (such as Blockchain and Cryptocurrency) have been brought about to help with this issue of privacy.

But what other kinds of other things can we expect to help keep our car insurance information safe?

Well, you can expect to see a bigger impact from something known as The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This helps to restrict how companies are able to collect, store, and use your information for any business that it conducts.

This particular regulation affects those individuals who are residents of the European Union (EU). However, states across the nation have started coming up with their own digital privacy laws.

California, for instance, has enacted a law similar to this concept, which allows car insurance customers to have more control over their personal information.

In fact, according to the Data Protection Report, many states have followed suit.

Personalization

On a similar note to the section above of giving customers better control, you can also start seeing more options to allow customers to better personalize their car insurance needs.

What do we mean?

Well, many car insurance companies are starting to allow customers to build their own insurance coverage around their own needs. Then they price the insurance rates around those options.

Major car insurance providers, such as Allstate, Progressive, and Farmers, all have started offering more personalized insurance options to help provide the best coverage for their customers.

You can expect to see further personalization options for your insurance coverage to come, as insurance providers attempt to provide the best service for customers.

Trending Car Insurance Competition

As some of the larger companies begin to grow in size, they also tend to branch out in what they offer.

Who better to break into the insurance business than company giant Amazon? Reports have surfaced as of late which indicates that Amazon has been meeting with insurance executives in both the UK and in India.

Nothing has been confirmed, but you can expect to possibly see Amazon dipping their toe into the car insurance business within the next few years.

With their track record of superb customer experience, you can also expect to see current insurance providers buffing up their policies to make sure customers don’t jump ship.

But what about companies already in the car business? Carmakers, such as Tesla, have also been testing the waters for providing car insurance to their customers.

According to Tesla:

“Tesla Insurance is a competitively priced insurance offering designed to provide Tesla vehicle owners with up to 20 percent lower rates, and in some cases, as much as 30 percent. Tesla Insurance offers comprehensive coverage and claims management to support Tesla owners in California and will expand to additional U.S. states in the future.”

So if you are a current Tesla vehicle owner, and not in the California area, it’s likely that you’ll start seeing this offering coming to you soon.

Now that you’ve made it to the end of this article, we hope that we’ve been able to give you a better idea of some of the various aspects that you can expect to start seeing for your car insurance needs.

If you would like to compare your car insurance today, don’t forget to use our FREE online tool. All you need is your zip code.