Pennsylvania Injury Law Report : Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Stuart Carpey Law Firm : Auto Accidents & Product Liability : Pennsylvania Injury Law Report

Apparently they can.  And, as one commentator has said, it's like big brother insurance company looking over your shoulder.

Under their "MyRate" program, Progressive will mail you a wireless data recorder, which you the policyholder then plug into your car's on-board diagnostic port.  The device records your speed, braking habits and time of driving amongst other things. In exchange, you conceivably can get lower premiums if your driving habits are in the lower risk category, according to Progressive.  

The riskiest time to drive is between 12:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.  according to Progressive's data.

The problem is,  the company can use this device to surcharge an insured who is forced to work the midnight shift, for example; or if the insured drives on congested city streets during rush hour and is forced to frequently hit the brakes, another indicator of high risk driving habits according to Progressive.

All of this irks Lance Haver Philadelphia's director of consumer affairs, whose concern is that the collection of this data not be used against the consumer. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department has so far rejected Progressive's plans to employ the system in Pennsylvania. Progressive is using their MyRate program in other states.

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PennDOT doesn’t say much in terms of helping consumers decide how much car insurance coverage to purchase. That's a problem for consumers.

We’ve always recommending buying more than the minimal limits!

Every state has a minimum required amount of auto insurance. Depending on the state, the costs will vary. In Pennsylvania, the state required minimums for liability auto insurance are $15,000 of coverage for injury or death of a single person, $30,000 of coverage for injury or death of multiple people, and $5,000 of property insurance.

According to the PennDOT website, "you are in compliance" with the law if you have liability insurance in the following amounts:
• $15,000 for injury or death of one person in an accident
• $30,000 for injury or death of more than one person in an accident
• $5,000 for damage to property of another person

Simply put, you should purchase more than the minimum coverage required by law. You should buy as much as you can afford.  Some insurance companies, although surely not all,  do a better job  than PennDOT does of explaining the coverages you need. It's inexcusable that PennDOT's web site is so lacking in this regard, particularly since the Pennsylvania Insurance Department does is somewhat better job of explaining to consumers the various different types of coverage you can purchase when buying car insurance. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department web site even goes on to state "having the right insurance coverage may prevent you from suffering a large financial loss in the event of an automobile accident."  We couldn't agree more.

In other words, don't skimp on your car insurance coverage.  We would only hope that someone from PennDOT would look at the Insurance Department's web site. Changes to PennDOT's website are needed to give consumers something more than "buy the minimum legal insurance coverage." That's just bad advice.

Optional, yet highly recommended additions to the state minimum are full tort coverage, rather than limited tort, as well as uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. This is separate and apart from liability coverage. For more information about these coverages, go to the Insurance Department's web site or order my book on the subject.

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Anybody who is crazy enough to lie on their car insurance application about where they live in order to get lower rates has to read this article written by Diane Marshall of the Philadelphia Inquirer this week. In Ms. Marshall's words,

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett's continuing investigation into insurance fraud has resulted in another round of arrests - 24 people accused of falsely claiming to be state residents in order to obtain lower rates on their automobiles.

Using a phony address for lower rates is known as "rate evasion." Urban areas like Philadelphia have higher rates than suburban areas, because of more accidents. So, the insurance companies can charge higher rates.  In the Inquirer article, most of those arrested were from the New York City area claiming suburban Philadelphia addresses. 

A better idea for getting lower rates on your auto policy? Shop around. Start by going to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department website and taking a look at all the insurance carriers who write auto insurance in Pennsylvania. Then give them a call to see what their rates are for the geographic area where you live.

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