In a survey of 500 consumers about their knowledge of autoinsurance, Progressive Insurance found 63 percent of respondentsdidn't know that the bad driving of others affected their carinsurance rates.

Progressive also reported men were less likely than women tothink bad drivers affect everyone's rates and at 30 percent, youngconsumers (ages 18-34) had the lowest awareness of any agegroup.

Eighty-nine percent of respondents told Progressive they wouldbe upset if they found out they're paying more to offset the costsof underpriced drivers.

Insurance companies commonly price consumers by comparing themto drivers with whom they share basic characteristics, like age,gender, or vehicle year, make and model. These factors do notdirectly reflect individual driving habits, but until Snapshot,Progressive's user-based insurance product, there wasn't a simpleway to include how a driver actually drives when calculating acustomer's rate.

Progressive introduced Snapshot to give drivers a way to savemore by showing they drive safely. Snapshot measures the number oftimes a driver brakes hard, the time of day and the number of milesthey drive. With more than 6 billion miles of driving data,Progressive has found that adding these key driving behaviorspredict the likelihood of a claim far better than traditionalinsurance rating variables alone, enabling Progressive to providelarger discounts, averaging $150 annually, to lower-riskdrivers.

"It seems obvious, but the best indicator of someone'slikelihood to get into an accident is their actual drivingbehavior," says Dave Pratt, general manager of usage-basedinsurance at Progressive. "Having that information helps us providea more personalized rate that gives people who drive safely thediscounts they deserve. Not surprisingly, most customers who trySnapshot save money, are happier, and stay with us longer."