State Farm Drive Safe & Save Review

Drive Safe & Save is a usage-based telematics insurance discount program offered by State Farm. Drive Safe & Save tracks the following:

• Speed: Try not to exceed 8 miles per hour over the speed limit.
• Acceleration: Don’t accelerate too quickly.
• Braking: Try not to brake hard and suddenly.
• Cornering: Don’t speed around turns.
• Distracted driving: Don’t use your phone while driving — this will be flagged if your vehicle is moving, the phone recording the trip is moving in the vehicle, and the phone screen is on.

You can get a discount of 5 percent just for signing up for Drive Safe & Save and up to 30 percent or more at your next renewal, depending on your driving habits and state. The discount is capped at 30 percent in New York, but State Farm notes that it may exceed 30 percent in other states. However, the cap may also be lower in certain states.

The program is not available at all in California, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and it may not be available in North Carolina, depending on individual circumstances. (Currently I live in Pennsylvania, but previously when I lived in North Carolina I was able to apply the discount there, too). Drive Safe & Save can only lower your premium — State Farm will not increase your rates if it detects poor driving habits, unlike some other programs, like Allstate’s Drivewise.

I drive as safely as possible, but I like knowing that I don’t risk increasing my premium by using Drive Safe & Save — especially because the way it detects phone use doesn’t distinguish between driver and passenger use, or even just receiving a notification, so it’s very easy to get penalized even if you’re not distracted. This discount saved me around 10 percent on my last renewal. I hoped it would be higher, especially since I hold good driving scores, but it’s better than nothing.

When Do You Start Earning the Drive Safe & Save Discount?

You get a small 5 percent discount for your first policy period just for signing up for Drive Safe & Save. There is no minimum trip requirement, and your discount will be applied to your next policy renewal, which is usually every six months.

State Farm uses driving information from up to the previous 12 months if available, and your discount is subject to change at each renewal depending on your driving habits for that period. Scores in the Drive Safe & Save app update every two weeks so you can keep an eye on how you’re doing. If State Farm doesn’t get enough driving data by your next renewal, your discount may be $0.

Enrollment

To sign up for Drive Safe & Save, State Farm suggests first texting SAVE to 42407 to verify your phone’s eligibility. However, if you have a smartphone, chances are it’s eligible. Then, you need to download the specific Drive Safe & Save app from the Apple app store or Google Play store — this is separate from the main State Farm app.

You can log in with your driver’s license or your user ID and password. Then, you simply follow the instructions in the app to complete enrollment, including consenting to the participation terms and verifying your email address and your home address where you’d like the beacon sent.

Once you receive the beacon in the mail, take it out to your car with your phone, go back into the app, and hit “Complete setup.” Hold down the button on the beacon until you see it light up, tap the beacon ID that matches the number on the side of your beacon.

The app will tell you when the beacon has been paired, and you’ll then be able to attach it to your windshield behind your rearview mirror. In certain states, you may also need to enter your car’s odometer reading.

I found this process to be simple and straightforward when I set up my beacon and didn’t have any issues — the app walks you through the process and it just takes a few minutes once you have the beacon.

This is what the beacon looks like:

When State Farm detects the battery is low on the beacon, it will send you a new one. In my experience, removing the old beacon required applying some pressure, but did not leave a residue on my windshield.

Trip Tracking

State Farm uses the Bluetooth beacon in your car paired with your phone to track your trips, so it will only track data from trips you take in the vehicles you’ve enrolled in the program. You don’t need to worry about the app incorrectly counting a trip that you take as a passenger in another car. I’ve seen this is an issue with app-only programs, like GEICO Driveasy or Progressive Snapshot.

My main complaint about Drive Safe & Save is the distracted driver tracking, since it will lower your score in this category any time your phone screen is on and the app detects that your car is in motion. This can even include getting a notification that lights up the screen, even if you’re not looking at it. I never use my phone behind the wheel, and I find that the app mistakenly detects that I have. You can manually edit this in the app to flag that you weren’t using your phone (or that a passenger was using it), but it can be frustrating to have to do it every time you drive or to remember. Your best bet is to put your phone in do not disturb mode while you’re driving.

Here’s how to classify a trip (including noting that a passenger was using your phone):

1. Select the ‘Trips’ tab at the bottom of the screen
2. Find the trip in question
3. Tap the driver icon on the top right of a trip
4. Reclassify whether you were the driver, the driver but passenger used phone, or the passenger:

Overall, I’ve found that the Drive Safe & Save app is intuitive to use and does a pretty good job of tracking driving behavior, other than the distracted driving score I mentioned earlier. It’s not glitchy or buggy, and generally runs smoothly.

I also looked at app store data to get a broader sense of people’s experiences. In general, iPhone users may have a better experience than Android users as the app has a higher rating in the App Store.

Here are some of the most common complaints about the app:

• Has unrealistic or overly sensitive standards regarding braking and acceleration
• Drains battery quickly because of location monitoring and Bluetooth
• Doesn’t distinguish between driver and passenger phone use
• Unclear requirements for achieving the highest available discount

Positive reviews note that the app has helped them identify areas where they could improve their driving, especially for people who are learning to drive.

Steer Clear is another usage-based discount program offered by State Farm, but it’s specifically designed to help young adult and teen drivers save on car insurance and learn to be better drivers. To be eligible for the program, you must be under 25, have a valid driver’s license and have no driving violations or accidents from the past three years.

State Farm uses a separate mobile app for Steer Clear. Those who qualify simply need to download the app and follow the instructions to enroll. I’m too old to qualify for this program, but I imagine the setup is very similar to Drive Safe & Save.

In addition to tracking driving data, Steer Clear includes five training modules and quizzes to help young drivers learn safe driving habits. It also requires five hours of driving practice across at least 10 trips. The program must be completed within six months of starting it to earn the discount, which varies by state.

The Steer Clear app holds a 4.7-star rating in the App Store and a 4.3-star rating in the Google Play store. Negative reviews complain that the app can be glitchy and is too sensitive in recording driving data. Positive reviews note that the learning modules are helpful.

State Farm is the only company I’ve seen that offers a safe driving discount specifically for young drivers.

Here’s how Drive Safe & Save stacks up against other major insurance companies’ usage-based discounts:

If you’re not sure whether Drive Safe & Save is worth it for you, there are other ways to lower your car insurance premium through State Farm:

• Bundling: Bundle your car insurance with another policy from State Farm, such as homeowners or renters insurance, to save money on all policies.
• Low mileage: State Farm offers a discount if you drive fewer than 7,500 miles per year.
• Good student: Students under 25 who maintain at least a 3.0 GPA can qualify for a discount.
• Safety features: If you have an anti-theft device or certain safety features, you may be eligible for a discount.
• Multi-car: You can also save by insuring multiple vehicles on your policy.
• Defensive driving: You can lower your premium by taking an approved defensive driving course if you’re 55 or over.

For the most part, I think it’s worth enrolling in Drive Safe & Save. You get a decent 5 percent discount just for signing up, and you can pretty easily increase that discount at your next renewal as long as you drive safely based on the app. Car insurance keeps getting more expensive, so it’s wise to try to get as many discounts as possible.

Based on my own experience as well as many positive app reviews, using this program can also help you pay more attention to your driving and even improve it. Of course, the app doesn’t have situational awareness, and sometimes you may need to brake hard to avoid a collision — you should never make unsafe decisions because of what the app may track.

If you have young drivers on your policy and are interested in usage-based discounts, State Farm’s Steer Clear is another great option for them.

Since State Farm won’t use the driving data it collects to increase your premium, even if you score low, there’s not much downside to trying it out, as long as you live in a state where it’s available. The worst case scenario is that you won’t get any discount, and your premium will stay the same. If you find that it’s not working for you and your driving habits, you can simply unenroll, but chances are you will get at least a small discount.

In summary:

Drive Safe & Save Is Best For You if You:

• Tend to drive safely, specifically avoiding hard braking, speeding, fast cornering and using your phone while driving
• Are trying to maximize discounts on your car insurance
• Pay higher rates due to a prior accident or driving violation, and you’re looking for ways to lower your premium
• Are looking to minimize the financial impact of having a teen driver on your policy

Drive Safe & Save Is Not Best for You if You:

• Live in an urban area where you frequently drive in traffic and need to brake hard
• Don’t want State Farm to track your data
• Live in California, Massachusetts, Rhode Island or potentially North Carolina (depending on your circumstances, Drive Safe & Save may not be available in the state)

We use the following methodology to evaluate usage-based insurance discount programs like State Farm Drive Safe & Save.

Tracked Behaviors and Data

We examine what type of data the program uses to calculate discounts. Programs usually track braking, acceleration, speed, cornering, miles driven, phone use while driving and the time of day you’re driving. We prefer programs that detect trips automatically. Crash detection is a nice-to-have, but it’s not a necessity. Ideally, the insurance company encrypts this data and doesn’t share it with third parties for marketing purposes.

Availability

We consider where the program is available, as not all programs are available in all states. We also take into account whether the discount varies by location and by how much.

Telematics Technology

Telematics programs operate through a mobile app, a plug-in or Bluetooth device or a combination of the two, and the ideal setup is a matter of personal preference. Mobile apps are more straightforward than plug-in devices, but they may drain your phone battery and are more likely to incorrectly track trips where you’re a passenger, like rideshare rides. If the program uses an app, we check its ratings on the Google Play and Apple App Stores.

Rates

We give preference to programs that offer potential insurance discounts of up to 30 percent or higher in addition to sign-up discounts. We also consider whether the program could increase your premium instead of reducing it due to driving behavior it deems unsafe and prioritize programs that won’t do this, regardless of driving data.