$ - State Farm's Drive Safe & Save OBDII Plug

Drive Safe and Save?  What on earth is that?  Well, it's essentially a little plug that goes into your OBDII port of your car.  That's a little connector near your driver's seat that mechanics use to diagnose your car's symptoms when you take it to the shop.  If you've ever driven with a Check Engine Light on this is part of the same system.  A device plugged into this port will tell you why the check engine light is on.  Now, in addition to turning the light on, the same system also documents all sorts of things.

These same things with State Farm's plug can report via cellular to State Farm how your driving.  For instance, did you ever notice that on your policy it may say principal driver drives over 7,500 miles annually?  That's because that is the average driver so that's what your rates are based on.  So what happens if you drive 8000 miles or 10000 miles?  Nothing.  You pay the same rate.  With the box, you may get a savings for only driving 8000.  Why?  Because you are essentially more likely to have a claim if you drive more.  The same applies for excessive speed, braking, etc.  So if you are a safe driver who obeys the laws, you should save on auto insurance right?  Well, you probably do if you've had no claims for years, but you could be saving more.

Look, this program is not for every car nor everyone but you can save some cash for doing what you already do.  It's completely free for the first 12 months and after that is $6 a month.  You cannot increase your rates due to driving so you basically have nothing to lose.  I signed up for it in April of 2014 and they were running a deal where just for trying it, you save 5% instantly.

I know that some of you are gonna claim that big brother is watching you but they already are in a sense.  This device works over cellular not GPS so they only know within 40 miles of where you are.  They don't know or care where you are buying your groceries at, they just want to ensure that you are driving with road rage on a regular basis.

State Farm claims up to 50% savings but we all know that you never actually get the amount quoted.  Realistically speaking you will probably save somewhere around 5%-15% for doing nothing extra.  I have mine installed in my daily driver Honda Fit Sport and I'm saving 12%.

Also worth mentioning is that the little plug also comes with a much larger box that you can optionally clip on your visor.  This device adds bluetooth handsfree to your car with a compatible smartphone.  It instantly synched with my Iphone 4S.  The visor clip can add other features similar to On Star but those come at a premium.

So what's the catch?  1) Well, if you are currently driving like you are qualifying or delivering pizza and clocking in 25,000 miles annually, your insurance agent will find out.  2) When you call to activate the service they will try to sell you on the optional coverage.  The person I talked to was really nice about it.  I told her that I wasn't interested and she just moved on.
There are some neat optional features for those premiums though so consider them.  One of them monitors your warranty recalls, check engine lights, etc.  Another can report accidents or even where the vehicle is currently sitting, this works even if the vehicle is not running and even if flat-bedded off to another location without being driven.

All in all for me, getting free bluetooth and a 12% savings on my rates is truly a no brainer.

Call your local State Farm agent if you are interested in trying it yourself.