Common questions
USAA SafePilot Miles is a usage-based safe driving program that helps you save on your premium by driving fewer miles and practicing safe driving habits. You can earn up to a 20% savings for low mileage and up to 20% for safe driving.
The program uses the USAA DriveSafe™ App to track miles and driving habits.
USAA SafePilot Miles may be a good fit if you:
- Drive 8,000 miles or less a year. The fewer miles you drive per month, the less you pay.
- Feel comfortable with a bill that varies month to month.
- Don’t mind sharing your driving data with us.
- Have a smartphone with a flexible data plan.
- Can make sure everyone on your policy participates.
Once enrolled, the USAA DriveSafe App begins logging your mileage and driving habits. Each month, your bill will be based on how much you drive. At policy renewal, you may also receive a safe driving discount based on habits like phone usage and braking.
Discounts are calculated from a driving score that includes mileage and behavior factors. Participation in USAA SafePilot Miles won’t increase your premium.
USAA SafePilot Miles offers a fixed rate for insurance and a monthly mileage adjustment on your bill based on how much you drive. You’ll find an update on your monthly statement based on the miles driven the previous month.
Currently, the program is only available in select locations. The USAA SafePilot® program is currently available in all U.S. locations except California, Delaware and New Jersey. Additional restrictions apply for Massachusetts Unregistered policies.
USAA SafePilot program is not available in U.S. territories or internationally. If you move to a state that doesn’t offer USAA SafePilot, you will no longer be eligible for the USAA SafePilot discount.
No. We use them to calculate your safe driving discount and monthly mileage adjustment.
Other things that aren’t related to your participation in USAA SafePilot Miles could cause your rate to change.
Yes. New drivers have a one-time 14-day learning period. The learning period gives you a chance to learn how the app works, and it can get to know your driving behaviors, before trips are considered towards your score.
You can remove yourself from the program at any time.
If we can’t connect to the USAA DriveSafe app or receive any data for 3 days or more, you’ll be charged an offline rate. For each driver, it's 50 miles per day until it's back online.
If your phone is logged on to the DriveSafe app and all the required permissions are turned on, you won’t be charged an offline rate.
Scoring and discounts
We base your USAA SafePilot discount on your driving score, which you'll find in the USAA DriveSafe App. This driving score is determined by many factors including harsh braking, phone handling, and how many hours you drive. To ensure you receive the highest possible discount, USAA encourages you to practice safe driving habits while behind the wheel.
Each policy period we will use your household’s trip data to determine which drivers have met the requirements for an earned discount. Each participating driver must log at least 325 miles and 16 hours driven each policy period to be eligible for a score and discount.
If there are multiple drivers on your policy, we’ll base the discount on the scores of the drivers participating in the program.
We recommend that all eligible drivers participate so your policy is eligible for the maximum discount.
An eligible driver is:
- Inside the participating area.
- Currently in good standing with USAA.
- One who has a driver's license.
- Listed as a driver on the policy.
Your mileage-based savings are applied monthly in your variable bill. The less your drive, the more you save. Safe driving discounts are applied at policy renewal, after driving data has been reviewed.
Your score will be calculated based upon the following:
- Phone Handling
- Hand-held Calling
- Hands-free Calling
- Harsh Braking
- Annualized Hours Driven
If all your vehicles are in storage, you won’t be eligible to receive an earned discount. If at least one vehicle isn’t in storage, you may be eligible to receive an earned discount. Additionally, to be eligible to receive a discount, the vehicles on your policy must be classified and rated as private passenger automobiles that are not in storage. The state you live in may also affect your discount.
For more details, see Program Terms & Conditions.
We understand that some members, such as first responders or truck drivers, may need to drive a lot of miles or drive aggressively as part of their job.
If you do not want the USAA DriveSafe App to record your driving during work hours, please try:
- Signing out of the USAA DriveSafe App before your shift.
- Turning off your device during your shift.
Remember to sign in or turn on your device during personal driving trips—this will help ensure you meet the minimum driving requirements to be able to receive a discount.
Your driving score is calculated based on trends over hundreds of miles, so one infraction won’t substantially impact your score.
Infractions
Your driving score is calculated based on trends over hundreds of miles, so one infraction won’t substantially impact your score.
We understand you may use your phone for music, navigation or other phone apps while driving. As long as you secure your mobile device before the trip starts and don’t interact with your phone while driving, you will avoid a phone-handling infraction.
Your driving score is calculated based on trends over hundreds of miles, so one infraction won’t substantially impact your score.
We define phone handling as any time your mobile device is being held, moved, tapped or swiped while you’re driving.
To get the highest possible driving score, we recommend opening the apps you’d like to use before you begin driving and placing your phone in a secure location to prevent significant movement that could result in an infraction.
We also recommend you avoid letting passengers use your phone while you’re driving. The USAA SafePilot App will record phone-handling infractions even if it’s not you using the phone.
Your driving score is calculated based on trends over hundreds of miles, so one infraction won’t substantially impact your score.
Hand-held calling, when you physically pick up and handle your phone, may count as an infraction against your driving score.
Hands-free calling using your vehicle’s Bluetooth® system doesn’t directly affect your score. But these calls still require brainpower and can negatively affect your driving.
We understand you may need to make or answer calls while driving. For your safety, we recommend keeping them to a minimum.
Harsh braking is a sharp decrease in speed over a short distance. Specifically, if your speed decreases more than about 8.25 mph in a second, that’s considered a harsh brake.
To get the highest possible driving score, we always recommend driving with caution. This could mean beginning to brake earlier and over a longer distance before reaching an intersection or a slowdown.
We understand there may be situations that require you to brake suddenly, but these should be kept to a minimum.
Your driving score is calculated based on trends over hundreds of miles, so one infraction won’t substantially impact your score.
In general, we recommend that you place your phone in a secure location before you drive to ensure the most accurate driving behavior detection. This may help avoid detection of inaccurate infractions, ensuring you receive the best discount.
This will also help you avoid infractions that might be recorded if you drive over potholes and speed bumps, or another unexpected movement that causes your phone to move.
And we recommend that you avoid letting passengers use your phone when you’re driving. The USAA DriveSafe App records phone-handling infractions even if it’s not you who’s using the device.