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Mandy Sleight has over 15 years of insurance knowledge and expertise in auto, home, life, health, pet, supplemental benefits, and other insurance products. She’s a sought-after insurance expert, appearing in Bankrate.com, Moneygeek.com, U.S. News & World Report, Reviews.com, CNET, and other publications, and she's been writing for Compare.com since 2023.
Mandy uses her background and experience working for well-known insurance companies like State Farm and Nationwide Insurance to create engaging and easy-to-understand content that helps readers make smarter insurance choices that have a positive effect on their budgets and finances.
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Lequita Westbrooks is an insurance editor at Compare.com. Her writing and editing experiences span several industries, including insurance, personal finance, higher education, and more. She excels at explaining complex topics like auto insurance in simple, easy-to-understand language and is passionate about helping readers save money. Lequita graduated from the University of South Florida, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English.
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KnowYourDrive is American Family Insurance’s telematics program. It tracks your driving habits and rewards you for safe driving. Unlike some insurers, American Family won’t raise your rates for risky driving behaviors. The available discount is up to 20%, but most customers save 10% or less.
Many customers report a shorter battery life for their smartphones since the app is always running in the background as well as inaccurate trip recording — for example, recording them as the driver when they’re actually a passenger. Keep reading to learn about the KnowYourDrive app and see if it’s right for you.
American Family Insurance began the KnowYourDrive program in 2017 to promote safer driving and reduce auto insurance costs for customers. KnowYourDrive is a telematics program that tracks your driving habits and vehicle usage through a smartphone app.
In exchange for tracking your driving behaviors and trip details, insurers provide discounts, rewarding you for your safe driving skills. Many of the best car insurance companies have a telematics program, like:
Allstate Drivewise
GEICO DriveEasy
State Farm Drive Safe & Save
Progressive Snapshot
Farmers Signal
Travelers IntelliDrive
Liberty Mutual RightTrack
KnowYourDrive tracks how you and your family members drive. Once you download the KnowYourDrive app, you’ll have to drive at least 10 hours within the first 90 days to keep the program discount. The app will continue to monitor your driving, which can affect your savings.
Knowing what the app tracks and how it determines who’s driving can help you maximize your savings potential. Let’s take a closer look.
The KnowYourDrive app tracks specific driving behaviors that could increase your risk of accidents, such as:
Driving during rush hour or late at night
Driving over the posted speed limit
Using your phone while driving
Hard braking
Short trips of five minutes or less
Your average speed
Your mileage for each trip
It logs each trip using your phone’s GPS location and data. But it doesn’t track your location in real time, except in emergency situations, like a car accident.
The mobile app also provides feedback, like safe driving tips, to help you improve your driving and save more money with a higher discount.
The KnowYourDrive app knows who’s driving by using your phone’s sensors and external data around your location. Although the app is fairly accurate — getting it right 93% of the time — sometimes, it gets the driver wrong.
To fix it, go to the app’s trips card and tap “Recent Trips.” Tap the trip you want to correct, then click “Edit or Remove this Trip” at the bottom. Tap “I was a passenger.”
American Family offers a 10% introductory car insurance discount for KnowYourDrive, but your driving habits during the evaluation period determine how much you save overall. The app monitors your driving habits continuously, and your discount savings may change.
Although the company advertises savings of up to 20%, testimonials from American Family customers show an average savings of 10%. The Reddit user below — who saved 10% — says you’ll save at least 2%, even with poor driving habits.
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The Google Play reviewer below also says they’re saving 10%, though others in the Apple App Store state they’re saving around 2%–5%. Remember, your automatic discount savings will vary by your driving habits, how often you drive, and what time you drive.
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Usage-based insurance programs, like KnowYourDrive, have become incredibly popular among auto insurance companies. The table below shows some of the most well-known programs, and their initial and maximum discount opportunities.
Program | Initial Discount | Maximum Discount |
|---|---|---|
| American Family KnowYourDrive | 10% | 20% |
| Allstate Drivewise | Varies by state | Varies by state |
| Chubb SafeLane | 10% | 20% |
| Direct Auto DynamicDrive | 10% | Not disclosed |
| Farmers Signal | 5% | 15% |
| Liberty Mutual RightTrack | 10% | 30% |
| Nationwide SmartRide | 10% | 40% |
| Progressive Snapshot | Varies by state; average discount of $94 | Varies by state; average discount of $231 |
| Safeco RightTrack | 10% | 30% |
| State Farm Drive Safe & Save | 5% | 30% (May exceed 30% in some states) |
| The Hartford TrueLane | 12% | 25% |
| Travelers IntelliDrive | 10% | 30% (Up to 40% in Nevada) |
| USAA SafePilot | 10% | 30% |
Most insurers offer a 10% introductory discount, including American Family. The discount potential varies by company, but American Family’s maximum discount is on the lower side compared to other insurers. You might save more with programs offering at least 30% in savings, like Nationwide, State Farm, and Travelers.
Here are some tips for maximizing your savings potential with the KnowYourDrive program:
Track your streak of distraction-free trips: The longer your streak, the more you can save.
Check your trip program regularly: You only get five days to change trip details, so stay on top of it.
Consider a designated household driver: You only need one person on your auto policy to get the discount. Choose the best driver in your household to get the highest discount.
Avoid rush-hour and late-night driving: Driving between 6 p.m. and 4 a.m. can negatively affect your driving score and discount.
Avoid distracted driving: Know what counts as distracted driving — picking your phone up, calling someone, and using the screen — and avoid it.
KnowYourDrive is a discount program, so it won’t raise your rates. But your premium can increase if your discount decreases or you stop participating in the program.
The discount goes on your auto policy and depends on all household driving habits of the drivers who participate. It also only applies to variable policy coverages (not your policy’s fixed fees) like:
The American Family KnowYourDrive program might be worth it if you’re willing to give the app phone permissions, such as your location and activity.
Some customers are happy with the way they’ve improved their driving habits along with saving on their car insurance policy. But in general, many customers are frustrated with things like the following:
Lack of privacy
Battery drain
Inaccurate driving information that takes too much time to correct
The use of outdated Google Maps information with wrong speed limits
Missing drives in the trip log
Issues with unexplained discount changes
Check out the reviews below for some real-life examples of what KnowYourDrive customers have to say about the app.
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If you’re interested in signing up for American Family’s KnowYourDrive, you’ll need to complete the following steps:
If you aren’t already an American Family policyholder, start by getting an auto insurance quote online. Current customers are also eligible for KnowYourDrive.
You can opt in to the program when you get a quote or reach out to your American Family insurance agent to sign up. You’ll then receive an invitation to download the free iOS or Android app.
Each household driver should use the invitation link to download the KnowYourDrive app to their own phone. You can also download the mobile app from Google Play or the Apple App Store.
Start using the app within 28 days of signing up for the program to keep your 10% introductory discount. To see your projected discount, you must drive at least 10 hours in the first 90 days as part of the “evaluation period.” For the best results, avoid using your phone, braking hard, exceeding the speed limit, and driving late at night.
A common issue with the app is incorrect trip data. Since you can only change trips within the last five days, make sure to correct any mistakes ASAP in your trips card.
Check the “Policy Discount” tab for your projected discount on your next policy renewal. While it’s in calculating mode, your projected discount can change based on policy driver habits.
We answered the most common questions about AmericanFamily KnowYourDrive below.
It depends. If you don’t mind giving up some data privacy to an insurance company and you’re a safe driver, American Family KnowYourDrive can be worth it. It’s a discount program, so American Family won’t raise your rates. It’s a simple way to save up to 20% on some policy coverages.
The KnowYourDrive app collects data like your mileage, location, and drive time for each trip. The app requires your location to always be on so that it runs in the background and senses when you’re driving. It may also require access to your phone contacts, Bluetooth, activity, or motion detectors.
It can, but it depends on your driving habits while using the app. A safer driver will typically see a lower auto insurance bill than someone with poor driving habits, like speeding, hard braking, and phone use while driving. Some American Family Insurance customers say it lowers their premium by around 10%.
Yes. The KnowYourDrive app tracks your speed. Driving more than 10 mph over the posted speed limit can lower your discount. KnowYourDrive also averages your speed over the trips you’ve taken in the last 12 months.
Sources
Reddit, “Know Your Drive App by AmFam,” Accessed June 3, 2024.
App Store, “KnowYourDrive,” Accessed June 3, 2024.
Google Play Store, “KnowYourDrive,” Accessed June 3, 2024.
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Mandy Sleight has over 15 years of insurance knowledge and expertise in auto, home, life, health, pet, supplemental benefits, and other insurance products. She’s a sought-after insurance expert, appearing in Bankrate.com, Moneygeek.com, U.S. News & World Report, Reviews.com, CNET, and other publications, and she's been writing for Compare.com since 2023.
Mandy uses her background and experience working for well-known insurance companies like State Farm and Nationwide Insurance to create engaging and easy-to-understand content that helps readers make smarter insurance choices that have a positive effect on their budgets and finances.
Lequita Westbrooks is an insurance editor at Compare.com. Her writing and editing experiences span several industries, including insurance, personal finance, higher education, and more. She excels at explaining complex topics like auto insurance in simple, easy-to-understand language and is passionate about helping readers save money. Lequita graduated from the University of South Florida, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English.
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