Progressive Insurance recently introduced a new auto insurance program called Snapshot, a national personal lines "pay as you drive" product that offers discounts of up to 30 percent to policyholders, based on real-time information about how and when they drive.

Using a small device that drivers plug into a car's diagnostic system, Snapshot tracks driver mileage, time of day and hard braking practices. After 6 months, the driver returns the gadget to Progressive, which figures the policyholder's discount based on auto usage.

Calling Snapshot a "game changer for independent agents," Karen Barone, Progressive agency sales and distribution leader, talks to American Agent & Broker Editor Laura Toops about how the new Snapshot technology levels the playing field with direct writers for personal lines business.