Is auto insurance cheaper with a dashcam?

Is auto insurance cheaper with a dashcam? Dashcams make life easier for car insurance companies. They simplify the claim’s investigation process. For that reason, many dashcam owners believe they should receive a discount on their car insurance premiums.

Is car insurance cheaper with a dashcam? Will you receive a discount for driving with a dashcam? Today, we’re explaining everything you need to know about how car insurance premiums change with a dashcam.

No Major Car Insurance Companies in America Offer a Dashcam Discount

Unfortunately for dashcam owners, there are no major insurance companies in the United States that offer dashcam insurance discounts. None of the big insurance companies will lower insurance premiums for drivers who use a dashcam.

It’s in a car insurance company’s best interest for drivers to use dashcams. A dashcam expedites the claims investigation process. It also reduces the risk of insurance fraud. Despite these obvious benefits for insurers, they do not currently offer discounts.

It’s not unprecedented for insurance companies to offer discounts for vehicle features. Many insurance companies charge lower premiums for vehicles with security systems or side air bags and other safety features. For now, however, there are no insurance discounts for dashcams.

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Dashcams Can Still Save you Thousands of Dollars

A good dashcam costs anywhere from $80 to $300. You won’t get a discount for using that dashcam, but your dashcam could still save you thousands of dollars.

Many drivers have successfully challenged tickets using a dashcam, for example. A dashcam may show that you were driving at the speed limit when a police officer’s radar gun inaccurately registered a faster speed. A single speeding ticket can raise insurance premiums by 15% to 20%, which means a dashcam could indirectly help you save money on car insurance premiums.

In other cases, a dashcam can clearly show that you were not at-fault for an accident. Instead of getting into a “one driver’s word versus the other driver’s word” situation, a dashcam can instantly show what happened at the time of the accident.

Dashcams can also reduce insurance fraud. A driver might cut you off and slam on the brakes, for example, causing you to slam into the back of the vehicle. Typically, fault is assigned to the rear driver in a rear-end collision. A dashcam, however, can show that the other driver was deliberately trying to cause an accident.

There may be similar situations involving pedestrians. A pedestrian trying to fabricate an insurance claim might walk into traffic, for example, or throw themselves onto the hood of your vehicle. Dashcams can protect drivers against this type of insurance fraud.

Dashcams can also reduce vandalism and vehicle theft. Some drivers leave dashcams running when parked. Someone might key your car in a parking lot and get caught on the dashcam, for example. Or, if your vehicle is stolen, you may be able to remotely activate the dashcam or check its location to recover your vehicle.

For all of these reasons, a dashcam can quickly pay for itself – even though you won’t receive a discount on insurance premiums.

Dashcam Discounts Could be More Common in the Future

In 2017, New York State Senator Jose Peralta sponsored a bill proposing a mandatory 5% insurance premium discount for drivers using dashcams.

As of 2019, the bill will continue to make its way through the system. It has not yet been enacted. If the bill passes, however, then other states could follow suit.

Other states could adopt similar proposals. An estimated 25% of car insurance premiums go towards the cost of fighting fraud. States have realized that increased use of dashcams could cause insurance fraud cases to drop – and thereby lower insurance premiums. It’s possible other states could implement mandatory dashcam discounts in the future.

A report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) revealed that insurance companies in America lose an average of $34 billion to fraud every year. Auto insurance fraud makes up the largest portion of that loss.

Despite all of these benefits, however, no state or insurance company in America offers insurance discounts for a dash cam.

Final Word

In some countries, drivers are required to use dashcams. In the United States, however, most drivers do not have dashcams. A dashcam can simplify the claim’s investigation process for your insurance company. Unfortunately, no major insurance company in the United States currently offers a discount for using a dashcam.