The University of Oregon's Office of Sustainability and Department of Human Resources will host a pair of informational sessions on Wednesday, Oct. 16, about usage-based car insurance – in which insurance bills are based on mileage driven rather than perceived risk.

The Usage Based Car Insurance Vendor Resource Fair will feature two 50-minute meetings – at noon and 1 p.m. – that are open to all members of the campus community. Representatives from at least five insurance companies will be present at the two sessions, which will be held in the EMU Walnut Room.

The meetings were planned after about 200 people expressed interest in the insurance plans in the Campus Commute Survey that was conducted last spring by the UO Department of Parking and Transportation.

Usage-based insurance rates are based on the number of miles driven, the number of minutes a vehicle is in use or other data collected from the vehicle, such as speed and time-of-day information. Traditional insurance rewards “safe” drivers with lower premiums based on driving history and previous driving patterns.

Usage-based insurance is intended to provide incentives for drivers to adopt safer and more environmentally efficient practices, such as using public transportation rather than commuting during high-traffic hours. Responsible drivers and those who drive less would have lower bills. Young drivers would stand to benefit because their premiums would be based on their specific behaviors rather than the driving trends of others their age.

A recent survey about usage-based insurance by Towers Watson indicated that 79 percent of respondents would buy such a policy or would consider the concept, according to a story in the Insurance Journal's online magazine. But the survey also suggested that consumers do not yet fully understand usage-based insurance, and adoption of the policies has not yet taken off.

For more information about the Usage Based Car Insurance Vendor Resource Fair, contact Karen Logvin at 541-346-2962 or klogvin@uoregon.edu.

- by Katherine Cook, UO Office of Strategic Communications intern