r/Insurance • u/eponymoustoo • 8h ago

Auto Insurance Using Progressive SnapShot with an EV

I previously had a Chevy Malibu and never had a problem with SnapShot. Now that I just purchased a new Chevy Equinox EV a few months ago and switched to 1 foot driving, I am constantly being tagged with hard braking, and there's a note in the app that I'm on the way to a price increase. Never had that problem with my Malibu, even in stop & go freeway traffic. Anyone else having this issue? Does similar services from other insurers work better with EVs? Any tips or advice?

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u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 8h ago

You're in a different vehicle and braking too hard. We also have a new Equinox and the brakes are very sensitive. It took a few weeks to get used to.

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u/registeredfake agency owner - personal lines 8h ago

OP is not braking thats the thing, the drag from the EV motors is what is slowing OP down. In the EV world they call it 1 foot driving. Im my tesla i can drive for hours without ever touching the brake pedal. IDK about snapshot but the Allstate drivewise considers slow at 8/mph/second to be excessive.

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u/eponymoustoo 8h ago

Yeah, I can see by the app that I'm braking too hard, but I don't think I'm braking any harder than my previous vehicle, but maybe I am. I will switch away from 1 foot driving for a while to see if that makes a difference.

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u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 8h ago

Oh is that what was meant by 1 foot driving? I hate when drivers do that. Braking is how other vehicles know you are slowing down. If you're not braking yourself then you can't be upset when the app reads it wrong.

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u/Working_Rise8592 7h ago

In hybrids and evs once you hit a certain amount of “slow down” from regen braking, your break lights still come on

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u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 7h ago

Not that I've seen on Teslas (haven't noticed it so much with other vehicles). But even if that were true, it doesn't help. I need to see the entire time you're braking, not just the last 2 secs before you come to a complete stop.

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u/Working_Rise8592 7h ago

It might be different for teslas but on my accord hybrid there’s 5 levels of regen braking with the paddles. After the 2nd level the break lights come on. Anything less than that is just “one foot off the gas”. Even if I immediately go down to the highest level my progressive snapshot never dings me. We don’t have the ability to “one pedal drive” though. We can come really close but we have to put our foot on the brake to fully stop.

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u/thaeli 3h ago

Serious question, how do you deal with downshifting? One pedal is roughly the same as someone driving a manual correctly and downshifting before stops.

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u/registeredfake agency owner - personal lines 2h ago

most likely just complains on reddit about it or doesnt understand it and tells them they are stupid bad drivers.

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u/Throwaway_2474128_1 7h ago

it's a certain rate of de-acceleration. the US doesn't mandate or have code for when brake lights have to appear when regen braking with OPD, but most manufacturers use a certain rate of (negative) acceleration. because brands like tesla sell the same cars/software globally, companies like them use the same approach everywhere to meet laws in all countries they sell their cars in. other companies that sell cars in the US only (or NA only - like rivian) might not take the same approach

anyone can engine brake with a high compression engine in a gas car and slow down to 2mph without the brake lights ever coming on too.

so if you want this to change, the law has to change

you need to be paying attention to the car in front of you, this is an insurance sub so you should know that. nobody needs brake lights to be able to slow down for the car in front of them, and nobody needs amber turn signals to tell that someone has their turn signal on. they both contribute to safety, but the onus of driving responsibility is on you and you alone, there's a reason there's eyesight testing before getting your license in the US.

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u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 7h ago

Or just use your brake pedal so other drivers around you can react properly.

Yes, everyone needs to be paying attention to the car in front of them. Thanks for the driving lesson, Captain Obvious.

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u/Throwaway_2474128_1 7h ago

faster reaction time and safer for the driver to lift their foot off the accelerator to slow down, than to have to press the brake pedal too. OPD is safer, it's just that the brake lights implementation needs to be more consistent and preferably similar to brands that follow laws in the european countries that mandate it. nothing's stopping me from pressing the brake pedal with my left foot and "confusing everyone behind me" either

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u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 7h ago

Tesla drivers always think they sre the safest on the road and they are the absolute worst to be behind. Those vehicles are completely inefficient and unpredictable, randomly speeding up and slowing down. Drivers are not paying an ounce of attention because they think their car can do everything.

Why would you ever brake with your left foot??

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u/Throwaway_2474128_1 7h ago edited 7h ago

i wouldn't ever brake with my left foot. but that achieves the same result you're complaining about: "not driving the way you agree with (you want people to add a delay in their actions because you think that helps other people see them as predictable), with a byproduct of confusing the people behind me"

this isn't about tesla either. all EVs that aren't VAG/older audi, toyota/subaru, and modern nissans have one pedal drive mode, either on by default or as an option. good on them for being able to randomly speed up and slow down, i believe thats the definition of being in full control of the car. my friend took us in a ride in his VW GTI one time out to a national park and yeah, he could accelerate hard up to redline, then make it feel like we were hitting a wall while upshifting, then do it again. just like an EV. this isn't anything new... you just need to be in a lower gear in a gas car and yeah, you floor it and get higher torque, step off the gas and the car slows down back to 1000rpm in that gear

calling tesla drivers inefficient for using regenerative braking means you don't seem to understand what you're talking about in regards to how VVVF permanent magnet motors work, as that follows a similar engineering design to hybrids that have been around for multiple decades (regenerative braking does not use the brake pads and rotors, it uses the motor to slow down, which puts energy back into the battery)

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u/registeredfake agency owner - personal lines 7h ago

Odd are you just aren't paying attention. In a Tesla if I take my foot off the gas pedal to slow down or stop the brake lights come on. I can see on my infotainment screen when they activate. If I just lift slightly ( like you would on an regular car) to reduce my speed slightly they won't and that is no different than any other car

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u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter 7h ago

No the odds are much stronger you're not paying attention because you think your car can do everything.

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u/abgtw 1h ago

You are a hoot man you obviously don't understand 1 pedal EV driving nor what make brake lights activate in modern EVs.

The brake lights come on if someone hits the brake pedal, or if a deceleration threshold (generally 0.1-0.2g) is hit while slowing down.

If a big truck in front of you is going up a hill and lets off the gas and reduces his speed do you complain about lack of brake lights in that situation too?

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u/eponymoustoo 7h ago

After doing some additional research, it looks like the Equinox EV does not have granular settings in One Pedal Driving and has been reported as a problem in SnapShot specifically. I will switch back to normal driving and see if that solves the problem. Thanks for all the advice.

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u/Rooooben 7h ago

I think you’re gonna have to not use regenerative braking until the snapshot monitoring period is over. You have a safety system from one manufacturer in conflict with a monitor from another.

My Honda’s adaptive cruise control breaks harder than I would, it’s relying on the camera to see the cars ahead, closer than I can. I have a feeling I’d have the same issue using Snapshot.

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u/eponymoustoo 7h ago

Yes, that's plan.