Insurance carriers in Nova Scotia offering a program that could lower customer premiums by as much as 25% are encountering some unexpected resistance, with only a few dozen people signing up for the program so far.
The discount is offered to those who have agreed to install a telematics device in their car; the device then records the specifics of that motorist’s driving habits. At the end of six months monitoring, the device is handed over to the insurance company, which uses the date collected to decide whether the user should get a discount on their insurance.
"We've been advertising quite heavily on the radio and seems like people are very leery about having this device in their vehicle for the insurance companies to look at," said Christine Gaudreau, the vice president of OTC insurance in Halifax.
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Insurance Bureau of Canada concedes that adoption of the technology has been sluggish in the maritime province.
"Well there is a bit of a slow uptake from what we're hearing so far in Nova Scotia,” said Amanda Dean, vice president Atlantic with the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
“But that's not abnormal for any new technology especially when it's related to a product like auto insurance."
In contrast, Ontario and Quebec have really taken to telematics.
"Well it's existed in other parts of the country for some time and that was in response to consumer demand in those parts of the country. So there's a bit more uptake let's say in Quebec or Ontario for example," said Dean.
One possible reason for Bluenoser’s reticence could be the fact that Nova Scotian insurance premiums tend to be lower than the equivalent in Ontario, thus Ontarians have a greater incentive to lower their premiums.
