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      10-19-2020, 09:21 AM   #1
Rikkiokbye
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Security Tracker

Hi

I have just called my insurance company in the UK and they have said they will only insure my new X5 if it has a tracker fitted.

Does the car already have a built in tracker?
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      10-19-2020, 09:46 AM   #2
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Yes. Through connected services there is a theft recovery and vehicle tracking.
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      10-19-2020, 10:08 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rikkiokbye View Post
Hi

I have just called my insurance company in the UK and they have said they will only insure my new X5 if it has a tracker fitted.

Does the car already have a built in tracker?
No there is not.

Connected drive does not offer live tracking of your car. The location in the CD app is the last location when the car sent the last update to the CD servers ( car sends an update when it's status changes, so when opening and closing the car).

In Belgium BMW offers this as an option but it is just a third party that installs it (Securitas in my case), contacting directly will be cheaper than going via BMW.
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      10-19-2020, 10:13 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rikkiokbye View Post
Hi

I have just called my insurance company in the UK and they have said they will only insure my new X5 if it has a tracker fitted.

Does the car already have a built in tracker?
As per iconoclast's reply but that's if your app works of course. I've only just got mine running after three months. I just went with an insurance company who didn't stipulate a tracker must be fitted. Saved a fortune on the install cost plus the annual subscription. I purchased a back to invoice policy for belts and braces. If the scum took it, would i want it back, NO. The key fob shuts down after 10 minutes of not being moved so it cant be scanned like many others.
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      10-19-2020, 02:09 PM   #5
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It's my understanding (can't say for sure), that if you call BMW and report the vehicle stolen, they can track the vehicle. But, unless you do that, the GPS position is only reported periodically. While a gps receiver isn't all that power hungry, constantly reporting the vehicle's position could eat up a lot of battery if it needed much range.
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      10-19-2020, 02:31 PM   #6
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^correct because when you call in to connected drive customer support it is one of the options they ask about. i doubt they would offer an option for reporting a car stolen and vehicle tracking if it was not available... that being said it may vary by model or year.
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      10-19-2020, 02:32 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jad03060 View Post
It's my understanding (can't say for sure), that if you call BMW and report the vehicle stolen, they can track the vehicle. But, unless you do that, the GPS position is only reported periodically. While a gps receiver isn't all that power hungry, constantly reporting the vehicle's position could eat up a lot of battery if it needed much range.
You cannot just call BMW to report your car stolen and expect them to share the live position of your car (which they won't and also simply can't).

An external module isn't power hungry.
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      10-19-2020, 03:27 PM   #8
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Well, there's this:

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      10-19-2020, 03:52 PM   #9
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This probably depends on the country, but the general software in the BMWs sold supports real-time tracking from the vehicle's built in gps and cellular connection.
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      10-19-2020, 08:23 PM   #10
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I had a trader fitted to my x5 by dealer on delivery need for insurance.

I think its by trackstar with has something to do with Bmw

£350 I think to fit then fee to sub to the service £399 for three years.
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      10-20-2020, 04:30 AM   #11
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There are trackers and there are trackers - it all depends on what exactly the insurance company wants.

In the UK security devices such as trackers will (if they are any good) have a Thatcham classification. The common classifications are S3, S5 and S7, with increasing levels of security and cost.

Thatcham S5 and higher have a separate fob, and if the car moves or is tilted (to eg remove a wheel) without the fob in the car an 'alarm' is sent the the alarm company, who phone the owner to check whether it is a false alarm or not, and if a false alarm is not confirmed they report the vehicle as stolen to the police. So the police get notified as soon as the car is 'stolen' rather than when the owner finds it missing, since stolen expensive cars are often quickly put into a steel shipping container (=faraday cage) to prevent gps and phone signals to/from the car before being shipped to another country.
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      10-20-2020, 05:27 AM   #12
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I believe some insurance companies in the UK want a Tracker fitted to monitor driver behaviour rather than for vehicle recovery although i suppose it can support both. Ive heard of people with these SPY BOX fitted who have had their premiums increased mid term because they have exceeded the speed limit!!!
Be careful what you agree to.
Id find another insurer who doesnt require a tracker.
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      10-20-2020, 07:53 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Finnborg Braga View Post
There are trackers and there are trackers - it all depends on what exactly the insurance company wants.

In the UK security devices such as trackers will (if they are any good) have a Thatcham classification. The common classifications are S3, S5 and S7, with increasing levels of security and cost.

Thatcham S5 and higher have a separate fob, and if the car moves or is tilted (to eg remove a wheel) without the fob in the car an 'alarm' is sent the the alarm company, who phone the owner to check whether it is a false alarm or not, and if a false alarm is not confirmed they report the vehicle as stolen to the police. So the police get notified as soon as the car is 'stolen' rather than when the owner finds it missing, since stolen expensive cars are often quickly put into a steel shipping container (=faraday cage) to prevent gps and phone signals to/from the car before being shipped to another country.
Thank you for the reply.

Good information and backs up what I have read about. What I'm confused about is whether I have to have a subscription?
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      10-20-2020, 07:56 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pro55 View Post
I believe some insurance companies in the UK want a Tracker fitted to monitor driver behaviour rather than for vehicle recovery although i suppose it can support both. Ive heard of people with these SPY BOX fitted who have had their premiums increased mid term because they have exceeded the speed limit!!!
Be careful what you agree to.
Id find another insurer who doesnt require a tracker.
Thanks for the advice.

I spoke to the insurer earlier and they said they will insure without a tracker but will not cover theft!!

When I asked to specify the tracker they say they don't specify?!

This is with LV so it's not a small company.

What doesn't help is I had an accident last week! So shopping for a new policy is very expensive! Whereas staying with LV where I have 11 months left is an extra £460.
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      10-20-2020, 08:14 AM   #15
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What a shame, or you could shop around. When i went on compare the Meercat, only about 1 % wanted a tracker. They all have subscription either monthly or about £299 for 2 years or £399 for 3 years or Maybee 4. I would shop around a bit. One thing is for certain. The G05 can not be stolen without the key. The only exemption to this is dragging it on a trailer with the alarm going. They are very difficult vehicles to steal.
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      10-20-2020, 10:07 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pro55 View Post
What a shame, or you could shop around. When i went on compare the Meercat, only about 1 % wanted a tracker. They all have subscription either monthly or about £299 for 2 years or £399 for 3 years or Maybee 4. I would shop around a bit. One thing is for certain. The G05 can not be stolen without the key. The only exemption to this is dragging it on a trailer with the alarm going. They are very difficult vehicles to steal.
Brilliant. Thank you for the update!

Really appreciate it! 👍🏽
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      10-20-2020, 11:09 AM   #17
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Quote:
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They all have subscription either monthly or about £299 for 2 years or £399 for 3 years or Maybee 4.
If you're doing this for an insurance discount then any device with a monthly subscription will not give you a discount. Insurance companies will not discount because the service could be cancelled after discount provided. It has to be a LoJack style that is a one time sunk-cost and operates for the lifetime of the device/vehicle.
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      10-20-2020, 06:00 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pateeke81 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by jad03060 View Post
It's my understanding (can't say for sure), that if you call BMW and report the vehicle stolen, they can track the vehicle. But, unless you do that, the GPS position is only reported periodically. While a gps receiver isn't all that power hungry, constantly reporting the vehicle's position could eat up a lot of battery if it needed much range.
You cannot just call BMW to report your car stolen and expect them to share the live position of your car (which they won't and also simply can't).

An external module isn't power hungry.
Assuming said m external module is wired into the vehicle, it could be power hungry. It depends on the blackbox, its config and what source it's tapped-into.
Typically, a wired device will update every 2mins when the ignition is live and hourly when not. Motion detection, in case of towing, can provide more frequent position updates when the vehicle is moved without the ignition on. This will add to the current draw of the hardware but is negligible. Geo-fencing uses more power as the GPS chipset is running constantly.
An electrical consumer warning could occur in the X5 if the config results in heavy current draw and a dead battery if the vehicle is parked for extended periods.
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      10-20-2020, 06:09 PM   #19
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Quote:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pro55 View Post
They all have subscription either monthly or about £299 for 2 years or £399 for 3 years or Maybee 4.
If you're doing this for an insurance discount then any device with a monthly subscription will not give you a discount. Insurance companies will not discount because the service could be cancelled after discount provided. It has to be a LoJack style that is a one time sunk-cost and operates for the lifetime of the device/vehicle.
This is simply incorrect. I run a GPS tracking company and have extensive experience in providing assorted Insurance Telematics products to motor insurers around the World. I have yet to come across a risk carrier that specifically excludes subscription-based solutions.
Any quality solution is going to have an overhead whether in Airtime, Servers or Support and a 'lifetime' service is going to come with either a huge upfront cost and/or caveats that service dies with ownership change or some other model to avoid the liability of supporting a tracker sold, say, 10yrs ago.
An insurer could use the failure of the Insured to maintain a service as grounds to repudiate a claim ...so being unable to locate a stolen vehicle as you stopped paying the service provider pits the loss back on the client. That's a win for the insurer. So, there's no justification for an Insurer taking the approach you suggest.
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      10-20-2020, 06:11 PM   #20
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It is correct. GEICO is one of the few insurance companies in the US that will not offer an insurance discount for subscription based tracking. It is the very first question they ask if you mention you have it.
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      10-20-2020, 06:27 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pro55 View Post
I believe some insurance companies in the UK want a Tracker fitted to monitor driver behaviour rather than for vehicle recovery although i suppose it can support both. Ive heard of people with these SPY BOX fitted who have had their premiums increased mid term because they have exceeded the speed limit!!!
Be careful what you agree to.
Id find another insurer who doesnt require a tracker.
That behaviour would get eaten alive by GDPR. The insured would have to be made aware that their driving behaviour is being monitored.
Anti-theft and Insurance Telematics devices are similar in terms of underlying technology, but their application is very different. Insurers tend to be quite risk averse and the optics of secretly analysing driver behaviour using a device installed for recovery purposes would not be a good look!
Finally, most anti-theft systems are installed by third-parties with a certificate provided to the risk carrier to prove the installation rather than them having direct access to the data.
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      10-20-2020, 06:32 PM   #22
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In the US there are a few insurance companies who use trackers to gauge your premium based one your behavior, geography, and schedule. The greatest factor being driving style. Progressive is one of them.
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