Law enforcement agencies have long known the benefits of dashboard cameras. Cameras record interaction between officers and citizens and provide evidence of violations on the part of the citizen as well as police. However, more than one car insurance company overseas recently began offering discounts to customers who install dash cams in their cars. Lawmakers in New York want to see this happen in the United States.
Some point out that, even if legislation requiring such discounts does not pass, the installation of a dash cam may benefit drivers anyway. Many dash cam models are relatively inexpensive, but they may save the customer — and the insurance provider — money by providing evidence of any wrongdoing that resulted in damage to one’s vehicle. For example, a dash cam could capture footage of a deer running in front of one’s car or limbs from a neighbor’s tree falling on one’s vehicle.
Dash cam footage can also be used as a defense if a driver is wrongly held responsible for an accident. Often, images on a dash cam speed up a driver’s insurance claim by showing who was at fault and proving when a driver was clearly not in the wrong. At the same time, drivers are using their dash cams to catch those attempting to defraud insurance companies by staging accidents.
While New York has not yet passed the law that would require an insurance company to offer discounts for using this technology, these are a few ways in which the use of a dash cam may benefit drivers as well as their insurance providers. Insurance companies facing thousands of accident claims each year certainly want the best opportunity to defend their financial stability. The assistance of an attorney can prove invaluable.
Source: insurance.com, “7 reasons to own a dash cam“, Penny Gusner, Accessed on Sept. 30, 2017