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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 11:42 AM
  #1  
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Myrate device

So I got that myrate program through progressive insurance, where they give you 5% off your policy to put a little box on your OBD2 port and it wirelessly feeds them information about your driving habits to lead to a potential 25% policy discount.

So they claim that all it monitors is:

1. What time you drive
2. How far you drive
3. How 'hard' you accelerate/ stop
4. How quickly you change lanes
5. Your speed

So being the skeptic that I am, I noticed this little box utilizes a number of pins in the actual OBD2 fitting. I would like to find out exactly what they are reading out of my vehicle, as they don't offer very much information as to how they rate you as a driver.

Because in all reality, they only need to use 2 or 3 pins total... 1 for constant power (to know it's attached to the vehicle) and 1 to know when the vehicle is on or not.

Has anyone got a diagram so I can see what exactly this little box is 'talking to' and does anyone know if progressive would tune the interia sensor inside differently for different vehicles?

When it comes to insurance companies I'm a skeptic. I don't trust them, I just figured I volunteer for this stupid little box before it becomes mandatory. Hopefully I'll get a nice chunk off my next policy though!
 
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 01:33 PM
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I wouldn't trust 'em a single ounce!!!! Once you get that info documented, you are toast. How do they know WHERE you are driving to know if you are speeding or not? Unless you go over 65 (depending on state) all they would know is you NEVER drive in the city.....BUT....for whatever reason you DO go faster than the max allowable speed limit in your state - do they immediately cancel your insurance??? Do you know how hard it is to get insurance once you are canceled??? Stay far - far away from this offer!
 
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 01:36 PM
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How in the world would it know how quickly you change lanes???

How much money (real dollars) is the potential 25% savings? How much is the current 5%?
 
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 01:45 PM
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The only ways I could see them monitoring lane changes would be through the vehicle stability control sensors, or some sports cars claim to have a feature that holds the gear you are in, if you are cornering hard, to prevent downshifts. These sensors are not all that common though....
 
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 01:49 PM
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I've found Progressive to be no cheaper than the rest. If you to shave some decent $$$ off your ins. payment look into limited tort. Get quotes elsewhere also.

They can monitor many many things through the OBD port mainly about the drivetrain and speeds. Insurance companies have too much power to pick and choose IMO. I'm tired of paying $$$ for all forms of insurance and getting nothing out of it.

I shure wouldn't do it. I can post a pic of the plug for my Scangauge 2 if you want.
 
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 01:57 PM
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Definatly not - theres a big differance in getting a ticket once in awhile from a cop and a device that knows precisely when you are speeding and tells the whole world about it - plus could this info be used against you in a court room if it came to that - the insurance company would own that info - not you and would probably cough it up. this devise could " hang " you in a court room.
 
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 02:14 PM
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Well the thing is you need to keep in mind I drive my truck maybe 1 day a week while I'm at school, and 2 days a week while I'm at work. When I do drive the truck I grandma the thing for fuel economy and usually never go faster than 55.

But according to Progressive, they cannot raise my rate or cancel me based on this box... 'only reward a good driver'.

With this box, my rate is $185 a month, which was about $10 cheaper than without it. But if I can get the discount (I'm up to a 11% right now) I figured my payment would be about $140 - $150, which would be AWESOME!

But as for that box, it appears it has an intertia sensor in it. It has a ball bearing looking thing that has sensors all around it, how hard the bearing pushes on the sensors tell them how hard I start, stop, turn, or change lanes.
 
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 02:17 PM
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Originally Posted by dkf
I've found Progressive to be no cheaper than the rest. If you to shave some decent $$$ off your ins. payment look into limited tort. Get quotes elsewhere also.

They can monitor many many things through the OBD port mainly about the drivetrain and speeds. Insurance companies have too much power to pick and choose IMO. I'm tired of paying $$$ for all forms of insurance and getting nothing out of it.

I shure wouldn't do it. I can post a pic of the plug for my Scangauge 2 if you want.

For me Progressive is the cheapest insurance on the market! Allstate wanted me to pay $540 a month and everyone but AAA and Progressive were around that!!!!

Funny thing is a guy at work got a DUI while insured with AAA, they cancelled him, he got a policy with Progressive. His Rate thru progressive is less after a DUI than his rate thru AAA with a clean record! Isn't that just messed up????
 
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 03:47 PM
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Methinks he "forgot" to tell Progressive "something".

Pop
 
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 03:53 PM
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I used the online quote thing on Progressives site. All the $$$ for advertising has to come from somewhere.
 
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Old Oct 17, 2008 | 07:58 AM
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I don't remember exactly, but electrically, OBD-II requires power (2 pins, +12 and ground) and 2 more for the interface. Then, CAN requires two (or four) more...

Interesting concept...

I pay $180 or so per month for two vehicles, a '97 Cougar, and my 2001 SD, both with full coverage, and $100K/$300K liability, with Allstate.
 
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Old Oct 17, 2008 | 11:13 AM
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What is the CAN?
 
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Old Oct 17, 2008 | 12:16 PM
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Originally Posted by 5.4L to Freedom
What is the CAN?
"Car Area Network" ??? Something like that. It's how to communicate with the ABS and airbag systems...
 
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Old Oct 17, 2008 | 12:44 PM
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If you look at the DLC (Data Link Connector) with the wide side being top, pin 1 is top left. Pins 1-8 are on the top row and 9-16 are on the bottom...

Pin 1 - N/A
Pin 2 - SCP Bus +
Pin 3 - UBP Diagnostics
Pin 4 - Ground
Pin 5 - Ground
Pin 6 - CAN Bus 1H
Pin 7 - ISO Bus
Pin 8 - N/A

Pin 9 - N/A
Pin 10 - SCP Bus -
Pin 11 - N/A
Pin 12 - N/A
Pin 13 - Module Programming Signal
Pin 14 - CAN Bus 1L
Pin 15 - N/A
Pin 16 - Voltage Supplied At All Times (Overload Protection)

CAN = Controller Area Network
SCP = Standard Corporate Protocol
ISO = International Standards Organization
UBP = UART Based Protocol
Bus +/- = Multiplex Circuits That Carry SCP Data To/From Module And To DLC
 
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Old Oct 17, 2008 | 01:49 PM
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Just remember with Insurance as with all things, you get what you pay for. There's more to the picture than just the premium. If you happen to be in a terrible accident that is your fault, you better hope your butt is covered.
 
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