Geico DriveEasy review: How it works and whether it’s worth it
If you’re trying to lower your Geico auto premiums, you’ll likely hear the name “DriveEasy.” Geico’s DriveEasy telematics discount program offers potential discounts to safe drivers who track their driving via a mobile app. But does the program really live up to its promises — and is it worth it for every driver? Bankrate’s insurance editorial team investigated the DriveEasy program to offer insights that may help you decide if it’s a good fit for you.
What is Geico DriveEasy?
DriveEasy is a safe driving telematics discount program designed to track driving safety factors in real time using GPS technology. For drivers who avoid unsafe habits like hard braking and phone use behind the wheel, DriveEasy offers discounted rates on auto insurance. The app is telematics-based, which means that your real-time driving information is transmitted to Geico via your smartphone. The program is currently available in 37 states and Washington, D.C.
Signing up for Geico DriveEasy could save you money on your premium if the telematics data proves you’re a safe driver. In addition, the program is designed to be easy to manage. Once you’ve downloaded the app and logged in, you don’t need to open it again when you get in your car. Instead, it automatically records trip data as you drive, as long as you remain logged in. The app can even distinguish if you are the driver or passenger or when you are using public transportation — though some users report having to correct trips that were inaccurately labeled.
Geico DriveEasy Pro is a telematics program designed for commercial auto insurance customers, particularly small businesses. The program aims to enhance fleet safety by promoting safe driving behaviors and offering personalized rates based on driving data.
There are two versions of the program:
- DriveEasy Pro App + Tag: This version, meant for commercial auto customers, involves using a free mobile app and a physical tag to monitor safe driving habits. The app provides insights into driving patterns and behaviors and offers personalized rates upon policy renewal. The tag identifies which vehicle is being driven, giving small business owners better visibility into fleet activities.
- DriveEasy Pro Dashcam: Geared toward trucking customers, this program equips each qualified vehicle with a no-cost, road-facing dash cam that monitors the road, helping protect the fleet with video evidence for claims and defense purposes. This dashcam generally suits businesses with heavy trucks and wide operating ranges.
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Coverage.com, LLC is a licensed insurance producer (NPN: 19966249). Coverage.com services are only available in states where it is licensed. Coverage.com may not offer insurance coverage in all states or scenarios. All insurance products are governed by the terms in the applicable insurance policy, and all related decisions (such as approval for coverage, premiums, commissions and fees) and policy obligations are the sole responsibility of the underwriting insurer. The information on this site does not modify any insurance policy terms in any way.
What does DriveEasy track?
Although DriveEasy can’t monitor every factor of your driving, it is capable of analyzing simple driving habits that indicate how safely you may drive, such as hard braking, fast accelerations, speeding and cornering. The safer you drive, the higher your driving score will be, up to 100 points. The app can also log your trips, giving you a sense of how many miles you’ve traveled and where you might be able to improve your driving.
Factors that impact your DriveEasy score
Geico’s DriveEasy monitors eight key safe driving factors — more than other telematics apps from most major insurance companies. They are:
- Hard braking: DriveEasy can tell how quickly you decelerate when you press the brakes. Hard stops should be avoided unless necessary to avoid an accident. If DriveEasy determines a hard brake, predictive crash detection called Crash Assist will note your location and ask if you were in an accident, taking you to the claims section of the app to start a claim.
- Distance traveled: By using location data from your phone, Geico DriveEasy can review your daily miles traveled and adjust your insurance based on how much time you are spending behind the wheel.
- Time of day: Depending on when you do most of your driving, you may be considered a safer or riskier driver. DriveEasy monitors driving habits and it may negatively impact your score if you spend more time on the road after dark rather than during the daytime. Those commuting late at night may be adversely affected by this.
- Distracted driving: The DriveEasy app monitors distracted driving through tracking active phone use, such as handheld phone calls and any sort of typing or scrolling. If a passenger is using your phone while you are driving, you will need to report this in the app to avoid a distracted driving report.
- Road type: DriveEasy can tell if you’re engaged in difficult driving, such as rush hour on a busy highway, or easy driving, such as slowly cruising down a neighborhood street in the middle of the day. Road type factors into your driving score.
- Weather: Bad weather makes driving harder and the app includes this factor in your score. It’s able to access weather data to see if you are driving in rain, fog and other bad weather.
- Cornering: Sharp turns present the risk of losing control of your vehicle. If you take corners tightly or too fast, DriveEasy may recognize this and it may negatively affect your driving score.
- Smoothness: In order to get a high smoothness score, you’ll need to keep your cruising speeds consistent.
Pros and cons of Geico DriveEasy
Although many telematics programs are similar across companies, each may have slightly different policies. Comparing telematics programs from each carrier may be a valuable aspect of the insurance shopping process. Consider these pros and cons to determine if Geico DriveEasy is right for you.
DriveEasy pros
- Automatic trip tracking: The app tracks your trips while you’re logged in, making it easy to monitor your driving habits.
- Driver/passenger distinction: It can typically distinguish between when you’re driving and when you’re a passenger.
- Possible savings for enrollment: You may be eligible for savings just by signing up for the program.
- Safe driving encouragement: The app encourages safer driving habits, potentially helping you avoid accidents and traffic tickets.
- Crash assist feature: This feature could help you file a claim more easily following an accident by sending your information to your insurance company.
DriveEasy cons
- Rate increases for risky driving: Your insurance premiums might increase if risky driving behaviors are detected.
- High data sharing requirements: DriveEasy requires access to a large amount of personal data, including geolocation data, to calculate your discount. In most states, this data isn’t protected by privacy laws and can be used by Geico for a wide range of purposes.
- Penalties for phone usage: If a passenger uses your phone while you’re driving, the program could incorrectly penalize you, requiring manual corrections.
- May not be ideal for city driving: Because DriveEasy’s scoring system values smoothness and penalizes hard braking, it may not be a good fit for city drivers who need to deal with quickly shifting traffic conditions.
How do I enroll in Geico DriveEasy?
Geico policyholders in eligible states can get started with the DriveEasy usage-based program by downloading the Geico Mobile app on their smartphone. Then, follow these steps to enroll in the program:
- Once downloaded, enter your mobile phone number and input the confirmation code texted to you.
- The app will then walk you through setting your privacy and location permissions to use the DriveEasy function.
- When you’re done, the app will ask for mobile phone numbers for all drivers on your policy. It will provide a text with a link to send to each driver, so they can download the app and you can start logging trips.
How much of a discount can you get from DriveEasy?
When you sign up for Geico’s DriveEasy program, you might receive an undisclosed discount as a sign-up incentive. Following that, your driving habits will determine any additional discounts, which could reach up to 25 percent. The exact discount you receive depends on your driving behavior, as tracked by the program. Safe driving patterns may lead to significant savings on your insurance premiums, while riskier behaviors might limit or negate potential discounts.
Ultimately, Geico doesn’t make its exact discount amounts publicly transparent. The only way to know the amount of the discount you’ll get from DriveEasy is to use the program.
Is Geico DriveEasy right for me?
Most insurance companies now have telematics programs, such as Progressive’s Snapshot or State Farm’s Drive Safe and Save. Each program has unique features, but all monitor your driving habits and typically reward safe practices. If you’re unsure if Geico DriveEasy is worth it, consider comparing it with similar programs to see which one best fits your needs.
Telematics programs like Geico DriveEasy may help you become a better driver by highlighting risky behaviors and encouraging safer habits. If you have a young driver on your policy, enrolling them could promote safe driving practices. However, repeated risky driving could increase your Geico insurance rates in some states, so it’s crucial to understand how your habits could impact your premium. Remember that even if you unenroll from the program, your rates might not immediately change if they’ve already been adjusted based on your driving behavior.
Bottom line: DriveEasy may help safe drivers willing to share the necessary data with Geico to get cheaper car insurance. However, factors like working the night shift, living in an urban area with dense traffic patterns or owning an older vehicle could increase the challenge of getting a discount through DriveEasy. In addition, some customers may not be comfortable with the data sharing requirements.
What real customers say about DriveEasy
To get a closer look at how real DriveEasy users found their experience, we turned to Reddit forums, including r/GEICO. We primarily found users complaining about difficulties they’d encountered when using the app, such as trips where they were incorrectly marked as a driver or falsely detected incidents of hard braking caused by keeping their phone on a seat instead of a secure phone holder.
You may want to take these comments with a grain of salt; while they may be useful criticisms that reveal DriveEasy’s weaknesses, they might not be representative of all users’ experiences.
March 1, 2024
Discount changes in Florida
I’ve been enrolled in drive easy, and I, too, have been rated as poor with hard breaking and cornering is always a failure. Yet, my score is 115 and never lower than 110.
I love the program because it was saving me about $350 every six months but now I’m only going to be getting in the future a $75 discount over six months. I am furious. The company tells me that everyone is going to be hit hard because Florida had many claims. But I called my friends, and none of them have suffered a 100% increase, like myself.
Last month I was paying $60 for almost 2 years and starting in April. My rate per month is going up to $120.
I’ve been given the excuse that the drive easy program is not giving big discounts anymore all over the state of Florida. Let me hear from you if you’ve been suffering the same setback with drive easy, 2024
via Reddit community
May 1, 2024
What DriveEasy really measures
For what it’s worth – I had a similar experience. After I had a chance to get over the initial outrage at my rating, I started looking at it from a different perspective, and realized that a lot of the dings I had were due to the route I took between work and home. Keep in mind that those types of things aren’t measuring you, they’re measuring how your car is used and comparing it to the average use of a car. If you are in a lot of stop & go traffic with traffic lights, even if you’re a good driver, you’re likely at higher risk of an accident (even a rear-end accident) and ultimately that’s what these things are trying to measure.
via Reddit community
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