News
Allstate to Offer Discounts to Gamers
Pilot Program in Pennsylvania Rewards Quick Reflexes
by Sean
Mainstream media stories about gaming tend to fall into one of two categories. There's Story Type A, where a violent tragedy occurs, and the blame is placed on video games. Then there is Story Type B, which usually consists of pictures of an retirement community/cheerleader camp where we're all told how amazing it is that the elderly/girls game. But today over on CNN, there is a story that seems to fall into as-yet undefined Story Type C.
CNN is reporting that insurance giant Allstate will soon start a program, called Insight, which will reward selected drivers who play specialized computer games with lower insurance rates. Right now the program is only running in Pennsylvania (Gamervision's home state) and applies to approximately 100,000 drivers ages 50 to 75. Allstate's own statistics show that the likelihood of an auto accident climbs as drivers reach their mid-60s.
From CNN:
"The games' developer, San Francisco-based Posit Science, will track the total number of hours these drivers play. Then the group's accident rates will be compared to a control group of people who do not play the games. The games are not all specific to driving. They're designed to reverse age-related cognitive decline and improve visual alertness."
This to me sounds like utilizing the lessons of Brain Age in a real-life scenario in order to make the roads safer. I think this is a fanstastic idea, and would love to see more incorporation of gaming in the real world. It is really refreshing to know that such a large corporation understands the link between gaming and increased cognitive skills.
If only I were a little older...
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Comments
this is so weird. i wonder if at some point the license test will be just a big driving sim.
I already got you the good insurance hook up Sean.
old people play games?
That graphic is fantastic.
The study looks good, too. This comes at the heels of that other report about surgeons performing better if they played video games before an operation... We might still run aground with the correlation versus causation issue here, but a positive correlation would still embolden proponents who contend games improve cognition and hand-eye co-ordination. Go old people, go!
@ Voyou:
You've never heard of the "Gamer Granny" before? I don't remember if she's in EGM or Game Informer, but she's in one of them.
As for this news, damned Pennsylvanians getting discounts on car insurance without having to switch to Geico! I hope this comes to Connecticut some day. It'd be nice.
Man, if any road in our area needed red and green turtle shells it would be the Schuylkill Expressway. Actually, they'd be helpful on 95 too.
no i must have missed that one Q
@Donny- No doubt on your mad insurance skills. I'm just saying, I'm not currently being rewarded for gaming.
Hmm, all those nights playing Twisted Metal look like they will finally pay off.
I wonder if GTA will be one of the games on the list?
I doubt GTA is going to be on their list just because it's a violent game and the media doesn't support violent games as of yet. BUT THE MILITARY DOES! The military seems to be the only ones looking at gaming skills to have a slight edge over combat and ops missions.