CAA Insurance has unveiled more details about the launch of its pay-as-you-go auto insurance product in PEI.
The company’s “MyPace” insurance product will be sold on PEI starting February 15, 2021. The PEI rollout is part of CAA’s wider plan to launch the program in Atlantic Canada; the insurer had already introduced MyPace in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick last year.
MyPace charges auto insurance premiums based on how much customers are driving. A policyholder’s mileage is measured by a telematics device that is installed in the driver’s vehicle. The device tracks the distance traveled by the vehicle, which can be monitored by the driver through a mobile app or through CAA’s website. The device also provides that information to CAA to help determine pricing.
According to CAA senior vice president of marketing and communications Gary Howard, MyPace customers pay a base rate, plus “a little bit more” based on the number of kilometres they drive. The base rate depends on the driver’s location and driving record, and covers the first 9,000 kilometres driven.
On its website, CAA Insurance advised that at 9,000 kilometres “there is no longer a savings benefit with CAA MyPace,” and that a traditional auto insurance policy would suit the customer better.
CAA Insurance also said that MyPace spiked in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, since people were driving less at the time.
Howard also told CBC News that at some point, the telematics device used for the MyPace insurance policy could be used to lower rates further for customers by measuring whether they are driving within the speed limit, but said that it is "not a place we're prepared to go at this point, just because of privacy issues.”
"There's been a lot of talk about this over the past few years, companies knowing a little bit too much. I think at some point we will get there, based on different elements that tell us how safely you drive,” the executive said.
