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Category:
Insurance News
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Car
Insurance
/ September 2010
Insure Telematics
Takes
Driver
Profiling
Technology
Global
South African company Insure Telematics is set to take its unique
driver profiling technology global, following a successful 18-month
pilot run in the local market.
"Most
forward-looking insurance companies want to be able to offer their
clients premiums based on actual driving behaviour,"
says the company’s founder and MD Johan van der Merwe.
"Modern
vehicle tracking systems can now finally provide the vehicle use
data that’s needed.
Our
rating engine transforms that data into detailed driver profiles
that insurers can use to offer completely flexible, personalised
premiums."
Insure Telematics partnered with local direct insurance company
MiWay to launch and test the product locally as MiDriveStyle, which
has proved extremely popular with consumers.
"People
are no longer willing to accept basket premiums based on what
demographic group they belong to,"
says Van der Merwe.
"MiDriveStyle
makes it possible for members of traditionally high-risk groups,
such as drivers under 25, to lower their premiums by proving that
they are better drivers than their peers."
Van der Merwe, who was previously Marketing Director of the Budget
Group, Auto and General’s successful foray into the UK market, says
it was important to build the solution based on the needs of
insurers rather than as a vehicle tracking solution.
"I
came back to South Africa to develop the product here because it’s a
culture in which people are more willing to try new things,"
he says.
"In
the UK they tend to design by committee.”
"South
Africa was a particularly attractive test market because of its
complexity",
adds Van der Merwe.
"We
have a huge diversity of driving styles and a high accident rate,
which makes life interesting for insurers. We knew that if the
rating engine could work in this market, it would be ready for
anything."
As
well as insurers willing to push the boundaries, South Africa also
has a number of sophisticated vehicle tracking companies able to
provide all the necessary data.
"We
launched MiDriveStyle in partnership with Tracker and have since
concluded partnerships with the big five companies including Altech
Netstar, Digicore, MiX Telematics and CarTrack."
Van der Merwe will introduce the Insure Telematics solution to the
international market later this month at Insurance Telematics USA
2010 in Chicago – the world’s first conference focused specifically
on insurance telematics.
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