Making the Economics of Telematics Work for Insurers

By Casualty Actuarial Society | May 19, 2014

  • May 19, 2014 at 1:07 pm
    TelematicSam says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Remember of course that smartphone telematics completely changes these economics as they have no installation charge, no hardware construction costs, no distribution costs, no networking charges etc. These innovations completely change the barriers to adoption. Smart Phone solutions seem to be growing for example the solutions of AIG in Ireland and DrivePlus App for Direct Line provided by http://www.thefloow.com which have both developed a wide user base without any troubling economics.

    • May 19, 2014 at 3:17 pm
      Libby says:
      Like or Dislike:
      Thumb up 0
      Thumb down 0

      How does the smartphone app work? Does it have to be plugged into the car?

      • May 20, 2014 at 11:59 am
        EmpoftheEarth says:
        Like or Dislike:
        Thumb up 0
        Thumb down 0

        Uh Libby…the app on your smartphone would sync with an external device. The app is not a physical item…it is a program on your phone. I would think that you would plug your phone into a USB port (if your vehicle allowed it).

        • May 20, 2014 at 3:03 pm
          Libby says:
          Like or Dislike:
          Thumb up 0
          Thumb down 0

          Uh, Empo, I know the app is not a physical item. My question was whether the smartphone would have to be plugged into your car dufus.

          • May 20, 2014 at 5:03 pm
            EmpoftheEarth says:
            Like or Dislike:
            Thumb up 0
            Thumb down 0

            I think this second response does not deserve any rebuttal. Bravo Libby!

          • May 22, 2014 at 9:56 am
            Agent says:
            Like or Dislike:
            Thumb up 0
            Thumb down 0

            Empo, have you noticed Libby cannot seem to make a reply without insulting or calling someone a name? That is her nature and she cannot help it.

          • May 22, 2014 at 10:42 am
            Libby says:
            Like or Dislike:
            Thumb up 0
            Thumb down 0

            That’s right, Agent. When I’m insulted, I strike back. Empo’s response to me was condescending and insinuated I was stupid. You do it to me all the time, so I have no problem insulting you. It’s very easy to do. Almost too easy most times.

          • May 23, 2014 at 12:24 pm
            EmpoftheEarth says:
            Like or Dislike:
            Thumb up 0
            Thumb down 0

            I was not being condescending. There are many people who are clueless about technology. But I apologize..you are the resident guru on everything under the sun. Libby, I have been curious…which came first: the chicken or the egg? And please dont respond that Bush prevented both from happening. That will not be an acceptable answer.

          • May 27, 2014 at 9:13 am
            Libby says:
            Like or Dislike:
            Thumb up 0
            Thumb down 0

            The “Uh” at the beginning of the post says otherwise. If you were truly trying to be helpful, you would not have included that little tidbit. But nice try at backpedaling.

      • June 6, 2014 at 11:08 am
        TelematicSam says:
        Like or Dislike:
        Thumb up 0
        Thumb down 0

        This telematics App (and similar others) work as an app on the phone without need to install hardware into or connect to the vehicle at all.

    • May 21, 2014 at 8:13 am
      milner says:
      Like or Dislike:
      Thumb up 0
      Thumb down 0

      Some implementation questions. How does the smartphone know which car it’s in? How does the phone know you’re not on a bicycle? How do you know the phone is not turned off for dangerous driving? How do you track all the ususual drivers of a car? The phone solution is cheaper but leaves us with some questions.

      • May 21, 2014 at 12:41 pm
        Libby says:
        Like or Dislike:
        Thumb up 0
        Thumb down 0

        Exactly! There’s your rebuttal Empo.

        • May 23, 2014 at 12:25 pm
          EmpoftheEarth says:
          Like or Dislike:
          Thumb up 0
          Thumb down 0

          Really Libby? Really?

          • May 23, 2014 at 2:59 pm
            Agent says:
            Like or Dislike:
            Thumb up 0
            Thumb down 0

            So Empo, you are getting the treatment now I see. It has been going on for about 4 years with me.

          • May 27, 2014 at 9:14 am
            Libby says:
            Like or Dislike:
            Thumb up 0
            Thumb down 0

            Really Emp. Really.

      • June 6, 2014 at 11:14 am
        TelematicSam says:
        Like or Dislike:
        Thumb up 0
        Thumb down 0

        Good apps use the signals and data gathered to determine if on a bike, walking, plane, etc and discard the information from usage.

        Users may turn phones on and off, they will also run out of battery but the data gathered can determine typical driving regardless of this giving a picture of driving which is what is needed for usage based insurance.

        Most policies worldwide have designated drivers for a vehicle not ‘unusual drivers’ – unusual drivers are not covered on most insurance and cannot be monitored. In some territories a vehicle is insured seperately and if all drivers do not have an App then this may not be the best approach. In which case an ODB approach or black box is a better solution.

  • May 19, 2014 at 2:19 pm
    Agent says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Can we officially say that Big Brother is watching us?

  • May 20, 2014 at 9:55 am
    EmpoftheEarth says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    I had heard of a company called Automatic that manufactured a product that plugged into the ODP port in your vehicle and you downloaded the app that synced with the device and gave you readings on your driving performance and also analyzed those engine warning codes.

  • May 21, 2014 at 11:03 pm
    Ramkumar says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Telematics, predictive analysis and big data are going to shape the future (near) of insurance underwriting. That day is not far when your insurer predicts your driving behavior based on the updates made in Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites :)

    • May 22, 2014 at 10:43 am
      Libby says:
      Like or Dislike:
      Thumb up 0
      Thumb down 0

      I’m getting off Facebook and don’t use any other social media. Here’s to doing it old school!

      • May 23, 2014 at 11:50 am
        Agent says:
        Like or Dislike:
        Thumb up 0
        Thumb down 0

        Libby, the way you like to drive (speeding), your premiums would skyrocket when the computer analyzed the data even if you didn’t get a ticket.

  • May 22, 2014 at 10:06 am
    james says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Way too much information being collected already. Never gonna plug into my car!

  • September 6, 2014 at 12:35 am
    Texlander says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    I recently completed a 8 month trial of using a Telematics device to reduce my insurance cost. I figured I was a good candidate since I drive less than 6k miles a year, live in the country, and am no longer employed. After agreeing to all of the legal and procedural statements, Flo quickly sent me my dongle

    First and foremost I had to adjust my driving habits a lot to comply with the programmed limits of the dongle. I tended to stop too quickly, but stayed within the speed limits.

    I did not drive my car everyday and this was a problem with the dongals program, if there was no data to upload at night time, the unit would lock up, it would have to be removed and reinserted to start working again.

    I tried to inform the insurance company of the few problems I was encountering and they did not really care, their answer to my questions and concerns was that I could send the unit back and cancel the process.

    When it was all said and done I did not qualify for a discount on my insurance because there was ” insufficient amount of driving data to determine if I qualified for a usage based discount ” !!! AARRGGHHHH !!!

    What a waste of time. Never again.



Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*