The Hartford Auto Insurance

📎  [Friday 3/14/25] Karen @KarenL697447 , this should be illegal and you should be able to CANCEL & return to your PREVIOUS insurer. Take care, Nicole  👵

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[*** @KarenL697447 wrote:

Just a note to let you guys know that if your phone is not compatible with their drive app your premium will go up ~$25 a month!   I have a Motorola Android that is not compatible (which I didn't know about until after I had received my quote and changed coverage from my previous Ins carrier) so my premium has gone up $25 and change a month.  Seems to my this is their problem not mine.  We shouldn't be charged because their software isn't compatible.  So I should have to go out and buy a new phone just for their app? Needless to say I am upset.  I could have stayed with my previous carrier for the same coverage, a lower premium and their drive app works perfectly with my Android.  ***]

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I thought if your Motorola Android phone has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology and runs Android 9.0 or higher that you can use google play for sign up-  Android 9.0 came about at the end of 2018 - 

Is your Android phone capable of using Google play?

I bundled my home and auto policies with AARP Hartford in February 2025 due to an attractive quote, but I was not told that the auto quote required me to download their TrueLane app, which detects driving performance. I learned that my policy would increase 15% if I did not have the app. Then I found out that my phone at that time did not have a motion sensor. So I spent $170 on a new phone which has a motion sensor, thinking I would make make up the cost in one year, by saving $90 every 6 months on my auto rate. Imagine my surprise when I received my renewal for August 2025 with a 20% increase. This is a 40% annual increase, in an era of 2 to 3% annual inflation, and wipes out the supposed savings by having the app. The app does not work all the time but when it does work, it usually gives me a one star rating, due to hard braking. If you drive in normal traffic conditions, you will invariably need to brake hard occasionally due to traffic stopping abruptly in front of you or someone pulling out in front of you. Apparently Hartford prefers that you actually hit the vehicle in front of you instead of hard braking. For this reason, my current rating on the app is a score of 7 out of 100, and I am due for a 38% increase on my next renewal. Keep in mind that I have not had a violation in 27 years, or an at-fault accident in over 30 years, and I drive my 2009 vehicle less than 2,000 miles per year. So, if you drive like Aunt Matilda who only drives on Sundays to the Piggly Wiggly for groceries, perhaps the TrueLane app will save you some money. Otherwise, you will learn why Hartford only quotes a 6-month policy, and you will likely get a big increase on your first and subsequent renewals.