Insurance and the GPS Tracker
Auto Theft Crime Prevention GPS Tracker Insurance Vehicle TrackingPublished February 8, 2010 at 6:29 am No CommentsBy Greg Bartlett
Insurance-it’s on everyone’s mind these days as the health care debate remains in the media spotlight. Health insurance is just one of many forms of insurance which most people have.
Insurance & the GPS Tracker
When did you last consider your other insurance and how much you are paying? For example: car insurance. Did you know that many car insurance companies offer discounts to vehicles equipped with anti-theft devices? Some states even require auto insurance companies to offer discounts for anti-theft devices (Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas). And just in case you don’t think your car will ever be stolen, consider some statistics. According to the FBI, a car is stolen in America every 33 seconds. Those living in urban areas are at an even greater risk for car theft.
Don’t be lulled into complacency because you have an older car. The National Crime Insurance Crime Bureau reports the top ten most stolen cars in 2006 were models were 1995, 1991, 1989, 1997, 2005, 1994 (several different models from this year), and 1990. If you happen to own a motorcycle, you are at an even greater risk. In 2008 60,763 motorcycles were reported stolen.
And while car thefts have fallen slightly over the past year, it is in part due to the advances in technology in anti-theft devices. One such device is a GPS tracker. A GPS tracker has two components: the satellites that do the tracking and the receiver that is attached to the vehicle. There are roughly 24 satellites that can determine the location (latitude and longitude) of the receiver (can be a person, in this case your vehicle). This information is sent to a database that is accessible by internet or through mobile devices.
Active GPS tracking systems give real-time information about the location of the receiver, while passive tracking is more like a log of events that occurred. If your vehicle equipped with this type of anti-theft device were to be stolen, you would be able to determine the exact location, which is why insurance companies often reward such preventative measures with discounts. These discounts can start around 5% and go as high as 30%.
As previously mentioned, some states require companies to offer discounts, but many, many companies in other states also offer incentives and discounts to owners who equip their vehicles with anti-theft devices. If you are paying too much for car insurance, consider the investment in a device that will offer you many benefits-one of which would be lowering your monthly insurance costs.
