Reward Safe Driving-Citroën Partners with Teletrac - Copy

Citroën’s C1 vehicles will feature Teletrac’s safety analytics tracking to help insurance companies gauge the driving behavior of the car’s occupant. The idea is simple: free or heavily discounted insurance is included in the price of the car, but in signing up for this program the driver has to watch their safety score that is delivered to them every other day by email from Teletrac’s safety Analytics system. If they drive badly they are warned. If they receive 4 warnings throughout the year, their free or heavily discounted insurance is cancelled.  These added initiatives are helping the car company reward consumers for good driving, and keeping unsafe drivers from maintaining that behavior.  

 

Teletrac’s software platform provides a comprehensive safety score that is assigned to drivers based on metrics extracted from analyzed miles for a specific time period. These safety scores are comprised of specific parameters, harsh braking, harsh cornering, harsh acceleration, speeding and stop sign violations. The score helps insurance companies analyze how their drivers are performing at all times—24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Personalized safety scores are sent to drivers regularly. The emails point the driver to their own web page which allows them to analyze their scores and replay specific events. Users can view the maneuvers which contributed to their overall score, with the ability to replay and analyze the driving leading up to these events. The site provides both quantitative and qualitative feedback on driver behavior contributing to scores in an easy-to-use dashboard. 

 

These safety scores will also help insurance companies gauge future liabilities. Since insurers will base their future premium quotes on safety scores and valuable driving records, drivers have a natural incentive to decrease high-risk behavior. 

 

The program is particularly interesting to younger female drivers who are no longer able to access lower cost premiums due to the recent EU ruling that insurers are no longer allowed to discriminate based on sex.

 

In addition each customer will be given a range of consumer services via the Teletrac device, including SmartNav navigation, Trackstar stolen vehicle tracking, SafeSpeed camera alerts, and access to an emergency and breakdown facility directly from the vehicle. 

Teletrac’s safety analytics software enables users to easily pinpoint problem areas and take corrective actions to minimise safety risks, excess fuel waste and vehicle depreciation in their vehicle.

 

This concept has worked for many fleet companies in the past. Pat Gallagher, Director of In-Vehicle products at Teletrac noted, “Many companies look at fleet behavior and fleet analytics as a way to reduce their policy costs. If these companies show their relevant insurer they’re taking steps to ensure that their drivers are driving within the speed limit and that they are adhering to all the necessary behaviors they should do, then invariably reducing the insurance company’s risk will reduce the cost of the premium for the next year.”

 

In that same vein, Citroën and Teletrac are confident that the concept will work for the general public and have introduced this on a model where it can entice a younger safer driving audience by providing free or affordable insurance—a feat in the current insurance market.

As Jeremy Smith, Head of Sales Programmes, Citroën noted, “By introducing the Teletrac monitoring device, our insurance partner believes it will ensure drivers behave more responsibly, therefore allowing them to offer better insurance rates.”

 

This is by no means the first time that Teletrac has been involved in a groundbreaking insurance initiative. Norwich Union, one of the UK’s largest general insurers previously launched a pilot to investigate motorist’s preference for a usage-based motor insurance product. The ongoing “Pay As You Drive” and Fleet Telematics pilots launched in 2004 proved extremely successful, enabling Norwich Union to better understand vehicle usage and driving behavior – providing a uniquely accurate risk assessment tool.

 

Stuart Berman, Executive Director of Teletrac, commented: “Once again with our Citroën partnership, Teletrac leads the way in in-vehicle telematics hardware and innovative services. The introduction of usage based services further enhances the attractiveness of our vehicle platform.”

 

The new insurance program is the newest addition to Teletrac’s Fleet Director software platform, which utilizes tracking data to help reduce company costs and promote safety, compliance and productivity.