I recently switched to Progressive. When I switched, they convinced me to sign up for their Snapshot program. Right now, I am paying $600 for six months of full coverage on my 2004 Forester. I know it’s older, but I got it for $600 because it just needed a coil pack. It’s a one-owner car, in great condition inside and out, worth about $2500-$2750 where I live. So, that’s money in the bank if it’s totaled.
The first device they sent me was damaged, so it did not work. They sent me a new one that is brand new and it does work, unfortunately. I drive about 50 miles round trip to college each day, mostly on highways and backroads with little traffic. At first, the device was fine, but after a few days, it started reacting to even slighter-than-normal stops, beeping at me for things like avoiding bad drivers or stopping at yellow lights turning red.
Now, almost three weeks later, I understand why the first device didn’t work. This thing beeps at the most ridiculous things. I’m starting to avoid the beeps, which goes against their goal of promoting safe driving. It feels like this device was made by the devil himself.
I am handy with cars and do most of my own repairs. One day, the check engine light came on while I was driving. After several “hard stops” recorded by the Snapshot, I unplugged it to use my code reader. After checking the car, I plugged the Snapshot back in. The app didn’t record the drive with the hard stops, only the most recent one. I found out you can erase bad drives by unplugging the device, turning off the car, and plugging it back in. I’m not sure what happens if you unplug it too many times or after a minimum 45 days, but that’s my discovery with this troublesome device.