Gianetta Palmer is a writer for CarInsurance101.com, copywriter, and essayist. Her work has appeared in EverydayHealth.com, Healthline, and The Dyrt Magazine. She is the author of Scrunchie-Fried and writes a lot about car insurance in her spare time.

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Melanie Musson is the fourth generation in her family to work in the insurance industry. She grew up with insurance talk as part of her everyday conversation and has studied to gain an in-depth knowledge of state-specific car insurance laws and dynamics as well as a broad understanding of how insurance fits into every person’s life, from budgets to coverage levels. She also specializes in automa...

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Reviewed by Melanie Musson
Published Insurance Expert

UPDATED: Jun 28, 2021

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Just What's Essential

  • Everyone gets a 5% USAA SafePilot discount just for trying it out
  • Only members of the military, veterans, and their immediate family members can get car insurance from USAA
  • Discounts of up to 20% are possible depending on your driving habits
  • The amount of your discount varies from policy period to policy period

Our USAA SafePilot review will explain how you can save between five and 20% on your USAA insurance rates with its usage-based car insurance program. Simply download USAA SafePilot; app stores on both iOS and Android are available.

USAA will monitor and score your driving habits, then calculate your SafePilot discount amount with telematics data using the mechanisms in your smartphone like GPS and Bluetooth.

It’s a good idea to learn as much as you can about car insurance and types of coverage before taking the UBI dive, especially since SafePilot adjusts your discount based on your driving habits as you renew each six-month policy.

If you aren’t happy with your USAA SafePilot rates, you can always shop around to make sure you get the most affordable car insurance. Enter your ZIP code now to compare free quotes from multiple car insurance companies.

What is the USAA SafePilot program?

SafePilot is an app offered by USAA insurance to promote safe driving habits. Drivers can qualify for up to 20% off their USAA car insurance rates at every six-month policy renewal.

Several of the top car insurance companies monitor your driving for only 90 days and you get only one chance to try for the discount. SafePilot is different because it continually monitors your driving habits and recalculates your discount every six months. You could qualify for up to 20% off your rates every renewal period based on how well you drive.

SafePilot monitors the following driving habits:

  • Your vehicle location
  • Whether you are driving during the day or night
  • Hard braking
  • Any hands-free calls you make
  • How often and for how long you handle your phone
  • If you are the driver or the passenger

Safe driving is important and uses SafePilot to prevent distracted driving. Also, many fatal accidents happen late at night. More than 2,800 people were killed and 400,000 were injured in 2018 through some form of distracted driving, including many young drivers.

That’s why SafePilot is especially helpful to promote teen driver safety. If the entire family participates in these efforts to reduce distracted driving, you will have for sure earned your discount and secured affordable young driver car insurance rates

Keep track of your and your family’s driving by using your USAA login to view each of your trips. USAA promises to privatize your data and only use it only for further research. The company plans to add more telematics features to SafePilot that will collect valuable data when you are in an accident.

One downside, however, is that SafePilot is always running in the background no matter if the app is open or not on your smartphone. This can lead to your phone battery being depleted or burning through your data plan.

If you choose to buy SafePilot, be sure to keep a phone charger in the car and consider an unlimited data plan with your cell service provider.

If for some reason the USAA SafePilot app is not working properly, contact USAA right away to report the issue because your rates for the next 6-month policy are at stake.

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Is USAA SafePilot worth it?

How much does it cost to buy USAA SafePilot? Nothing at all. It is free, simple to use, and it can save you money. SafePilot is worth it when it comes to improving your driving habits and helping prevent distracted driving.

USAA SafePilot customer reviews are mostly positive, but unfortunately, the app doesn’t always know whether you are a driver or a passenger, and users say this is one weakness of their app.

If you would like to try out other usage-based car insurance programs, most companies will promote a trial period for any potential new customers.

Some companies offer great discounts on car insurance for military dependents, and stacking a military discount with a usage-based program discount could mean big savings. Find out which are the best car insurance companies for veterans and military personnel using our free quote tool.

Now that you’ve read our USAA SafePilot review, are you ready to compare other usage-based car insurance companies and find the best rates? Enter your ZIP code below to compare free car insurance quotes today.

References:

  1. https://www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/distracted_driving/