This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Nationwide. I purchased my own insurance at normal prices. All opinions are 100% mine. Nationwide provided me with information regarding its SmartRide program.  I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been on a money-saving spree since Christmas and one simple way that I’ve been able to save is by simply signing up for Nationwide’s SmartRide program. Basically, it’s a program that evaluates driving behavior and rewards you for safe driving habits. You save an initial 10% on the first term, just by signing up! Then, based on your driving trends, you may earn a final discount based on four components: miles driven, hard braking, fast acceleration and nighttime driving.It all makes sense to be rewarded for your safe driving, right? I’ve always wondered why insurance companies charge what they do and the SmartRide program is, in my opinion, a more personalized and fair way of determining insurance rates. My husband and I have both signed up for the SmartRide program and, our projected discounts are looking great! Mine is trending at 19% and my husband’s is trending a 17%.So, how does it work? We received two boxes in the mail with a device inside for each of our cars. We weren’t sure where to install the device as it varies according to your car but it was simple once we logged into our Nationwide account online. They have an actual picture showing exactly where to install the device. In my car, we snapped it into place under my car’s steering column. I don’t ever notice it either, which has been nice. After installing it, I logged into my account on the SmartRide website to monitor my progress. My husband has learned that he hard-brakes about 3 times per week and has fast acceleration about once per week. My stats are similar even though I’ve always liked to think I’m the safer driver between us. The device has also let us know exactly how many miles per week and month we have driven, which has also benefitted us in determining our budget for gas every month!We like how the SmartRide website shows our driving stats and our projected discounts for each vehicle. And we both also receive weekly summary emails that communicate our miles driven, hard brakes, fast accelerations, and nighttime driving stats. And, as we are both pretty competitive, it’s been fun to compare and try to improve our driving to “beat” the other person. One more thing: We were wondering if the device would always be in our car and the answer is no! After you sign up, Nationwide measures your driving behavior during that insurance policy term, which for us, is 6 months, and at the end of the program, you send back your device, then they calculate your final potential discount which will be applied at your next policy renewal! In summary, there have been NO cons to the SmartRide program and it’s only helped save us money as we have been Nationwide customers ever since we got married.

Nationwide asked that I include this information about the product: Products underwritten by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Affiliates. Columbus, Ohio. Availability varies. Discounts do not apply to all coverage elements; actual savings vary by state, coverage selections, rating factors and policy changes. Enrollment discount applies during data collection; final discount is calculated on driving behavior and could be zero. Final discount applies at the next policy renewal and remains until drivers or vehicles on the policy change.