Ever wondered if being a safe driver could save you money on auto insurance? One option that may help reduce your premium is State Farm’s Drive Safe and Save program, which is designed to reward safe drivers with discounts on their car insurance. Bankrate conducted extensive research on the State Farm Drive Safe and Save program. Our review explores the program’s features and may help you decide if this option is right for you.

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What is State Farm Drive Safe and Save?

For drivers with State Farm car insurance, the Drive Safe and Save program could be a good opportunity to save money on car insurance. State Farm reports that drivers can receive an initial discount just by signing up and save up to 30 percent by participating. To get started, drivers can download a mobile app or use the Connected Car feature if you have a 2020 or newer Ford or Lincoln vehicle.

The Drive Safe and Save app gets fairly good reviews, with a rating of 4.6 out of 5.0 on the App Store and 4.2 out of 5.0 from Google Play. Most Drive Safe and Save reviews note that the app is easy to use and helps them stay on top of their driving habits. However, on both platforms, users complain that the app sometimes incorrectly scores their driving, especially if they have to take evasive action to avoid a collision.

Whether you use the app or the Connected Car option, State Farm will monitor your driving habits to determine how much you could save on your car insurance. You can even connect Amazon Alexa to the program to check the status and amount of the Drive Safe and Save discount. The program is optional, and drivers who aren’t able to earn a discount because of their driving habits will not be surcharged on their car insurance policy after the program period.

How does State Farm Drive Safe and Save work?

If you want to simply drive and save, State Farm may make it easy. The company designed a car insurance telematics program that tracks certain driving behaviors and rewards you with a discount based on how safely you drive. The free Drive Safe and Save app can be downloaded from Google Play or the App Store. Follow these steps to install it:

  • Text “SAVE” to 42407 to get a link to download the app in Google Play or the App Store.
  • Log in to the installed app using your statefarm.com user ID and password.
  • Drive and see how you score! It’s that easy.

How does Drive Safe and Save work? It’s pretty simple: your phone tracks your driving patterns and reports them to the app. Because of this, you will need to keep your Bluetooth and location settings on while you drive.

Connected Car

If you drive a 2020 or newer Ford or Lincoln, you could skip the app and use State Farm’s Drive Safe and Save Connected Car option to enroll in the program:

  • Add your vehicle to the “Garage” in either the FordPass or Lincoln Way app (depending on the make of your car).
  • Let your State Farm agent know you want to enroll in Drive Safe and Save.
  • The next time you turn on your car, you should see an in-vehicle agreement pop up. Complete the form and you’ll be enrolled!

What does Drive Safe and Save track?

Now you know how the program works, but what does Drive Safe and Save track? Drive Safe and Save is both a telematics program and a usage-based program, which means it tracks your driving habits and how many miles you drive. Either the app or the Connected Car program will track several features of your driving:

  • Acceleration: When you accelerate too fast, you have less control over your car, which could increase your chances of being involved in an accident.
  • Braking: Similarly to accelerating quickly, braking too hard may be a sign of riskier driving habits. Keeping a responsible distance from the vehicle in front of you may help you slow down more smoothly.
  • Cornering: Telematics can track quick, sharp turns, which are not usually regarded as safe driving behaviors. Quick or sharp turns may mean you are less in control of your vehicle, which could lead to accidents.
  • Speed: Speeding is one of the riskiest driving behaviors and can lead to more frequent and severe accidents. Driving the speed limit could help you achieve a higher discount in the Drive Safe and Save program.
  • Phone use: This is an obvious hazard on the road, but unfortunately many people still use their mobile phones while driving. The Drive Safe and Save technology can track when you are using your phone and will lower your earned discount level. Avoiding phone use while driving creates safer roadways for everyone and could increase your State Farm Drive Safe and Save discount.

All these factors are collected by State Farm and are factored into your Drive Safe and Save grades, which provides the company with a snapshot of your driving skills. These grades are used to determine your discount percentage. When you drive safely and avoid risks like hard braking and speeding, you could potentially earn a considerable discount on your car insurance.

How do you save with State Farm Drive Safe and Save?

When your policy renews, State Farm will use your Drive Safe and Save data to determine how safe your driving has been. Based on the elements it measures — acceleration, braking and other benchmarks — it may assign a discount to your policy, which can be up to 30 percent.

Is the Drive Safe and Save program right for me?

Responsible drivers could earn a significant discount on their insurance premium by opting for the Drive Safe and Save program. By adhering to low-risk driving, you may reap the benefits of program discounts reflected in your premium.

It might also be a good option for those who want to improve their driving habits, as there is no risk of premiums increasing from participating in the program. The program does not monitor tickets or traffic stops. If you travel long distances — potentially as part of a daily commute — and have a high annual mileage, you may not be able to receive the maximum discount with Drive Safe and Save.

Usage-based insurance can also benefit young drivers. If you have a teen or young adult who has just started driving, State Farm’s program could give you an informal way of knowing how well they are doing behind the wheel so that you can help them become a safer and more aware driver.

Drive Safe and Save could be right for you if… Drive Safe and Save may not be right for you if…
You are a generally safe driver.
You drive rarely or only short distances.
You want to improve your driving habits. 		You drive long distances on a regular basis.
You feel uncomfortable letting an app track your driving patterns.
You drive in heavy traffic and may have to make quick, evasive movements.

Frequently asked questions

    • Telematics uses a combination of GPS technology and in-app diagnostics to determine your location, traveling speed and how the driver is conducting themselves on the road. These factors may provide an auto insurer like State Farm with clear data to determine driving habits and assess risk.
    • Your rate will only increase if your vehicle already has a low-mileage discount (under 7,500 miles a year) and you exceed that. In this case, you could lose the discount. If you don’t earn a discount with the program, you’ll also likely lose your participation discount.
    • No. This program is vehicle-specific and discounts apply individually for each car that is enrolled. You don’t have to enroll all the vehicles in your household, but you’ll only get a discount on the vehicles you enroll in the program. This can be a helpful feature if you have a driver in your household that isn’t a good fit for the program.
    • If you are wondering how to turn off the State Farm Drive Safe and Save program, your best bet is likely to call your agent. You could also choose to leave your phone’s Bluetooth and location services off when you drive, which means the app won’t be able to record a trip. You could also uninstall the app. However, there could be consequences to these actions, since you’ll still be officially enrolled. If you want to end the program, you will likely want to contact your agent to discuss.
    • Drive Safe and Save uses your actual driving patterns to determine if you are eligible for a discount and how much of a discount to give you. The program is designed to help you better understand your driving habits and even improve them. Attempting to cheat the program will only cheat you out of learning safer driving skills. Worse, cheating the program and reporting false data could result in the termination of your entire policy if the company deems it as misrepresentation.

      If you don’t think you’re a good fit for the program but still want to save money, you could check out State Farm’s other car insurance discounts.