AAA Study: Teen Drivers with Passengers are Riskier

By SARAH CRICHTON  sarah.crichton@newsday.com

 

About one-third of all fatal car crashes are caused by speeding, but for 16- and 17-year-old drivers, the numbers rise to almost half when there are three or more passengers, according to a new study. 

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, according to the Federal Highway Safety Administration.

This week is National Teen Driver Safety Week, and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released its latest findings to highlight how the prevalence of risky behavior generally grows for drivers ages 16 and 17 when teen passengers are present.

For 16- and 17-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes, the analysis found:

Prevalence of speeding increased from 30 percent with no passengers to 44 percent with two and to 48 percent with three or more.

Prevalence of alcohol similarly rose from 13 percent to 17 percent and 18 percent.

The foundation analyzed data on fatal crashes in the United States from 2005 through 2010. Researchers found 9,578 drivers age 16 and 17 were involved in fatal crashes, and that 3,994 of these included at least one teen passenger. All risk factors were more common among male drivers.

New York State's graduated driver licensing program, which took effect Sept. 1, 2003, limits teens with learner permits and junior licenses to driving only from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Nassau and Suffolk, except for limited travel to work, school and driver's education, with proof required. It also caps the number of passengers under 21, among other restrictions.

An earlier foundation report found loud conversation and horseplay were substantially more common with multiple teen passengers than with siblings or adult passengers.

Re-posted by Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics, developers of the LynxSafe Teen Driving Monitor.

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These are some of the very reasons that we developed the LynxSafe Teen Driving Monitor.

One of the scariest days in any parent’s life is that moment you hand them the keys for their first night out on the town.

As my own Mother has often said; “I would lie awake every night, until I heard the garage door open. Only then, could I get good nights sleep!”

Actually, if Mom had known the way I was driving; those nights would have been even more restless!

After a personal family tragedy involving teen driving, I began to really think about my two children that had yet to begin the driving process and made the determination that I would not sit back and do nothing, other than say a prayer and keep my fingers crossed.

Telematics has been on the rise over the past few years and has really made a leap into mainstream public, thanks to a gal named Flo and Progressive Insurance’s product offering called “Snap Shot”

“Snap Shot” is a product that simply plugs into your vehicles diagnostic port and harvests data, based on driving habits, for the insurance company.

Known as UBI (User Based Insurance), the insurance company’s actuaries will assign a risk assessment profile to the individual driver and either slightly increase or lower premiums based on the data accumulated.

As one insurance company CEO recently remarked to me; “Telematics is to the insurance industry, what credit score was five years ago.”

Credit scores used to be accurate indicators of a drivers risk profile and predictors of the likelihood to be involved in an accident.

However, now that credit laws and new regulations on lending have changed due to the economy, many people that were previously considered “good credit profiles” are now considered marginal to poor, due to no fault of their own.

What was once an accurate indicator of risk factor for an individual driver was now becoming viewed as increasingly inaccurate?

Telematics provided a “game changer” to the insurance industry, with accurate indisputable driver profiling as a result of individual driving habits and real time monitoring.

While this is a great product and many of the top insurance companies are now moving to a UBI model, there is still a basic flaw to me; As a parent, I want to know my kid is a bad driver….the second he is a bad driver and not…2 weeks after it’s too late, when my insurance company tells me his driver score went down 3 points.

The LynxSafe Teen Driving Monitor, by Lynx Telematics has allowed us to develop device that simply plugs into the drivers diagnostic port that allows a parent to monitor in real-time EXACTLY what their teen drivers are doing behind the wheel.

Once the LynxSafe device is installed, a parent logs onto their personal website and sets up parameters or rules, that they expect their teenager to follow when behind the wheel.

Along with rules and boundaries, a parent or loved one, chooses how they want to be notified, either by smart phone, with live map locations when violations occur, or by any internet enabled device. As for me, I like seeing on my smart phone exactly where my kid is…the moment they have broken a rule.

For example, I want to eliminate his or her ability to text and drive or browse his web enabled smart phone, I can now take full control over that deadly habit with our Anti-Texting” technology.

Next, thanks to a “Speed by Street” feature, I only want my son to drive no more than 5mph over the speed limit on any given highway or street.

With our “On Star” like capabilities, I can set up a collision alert and have the peace of mind to know that if any fender bender occurs, our 24/7 call center has already contacted my child before I even have a chance to call.

I can also set up other parameters such as excessive RPM’s, jack rabbit starts, panic breaking, cornering too hard as well as a special feature called “Boundaries”

If my son or daughter happens to be grounded and I only want to allow them to drive back and forth to school and work, I can set up a boundary that will notify me the second they leave that zone or if they cut out of school early, I will know the moment they leave the lot.

As a parent, I can also monitor specific engine diagnostics such as low fluids, mechanical glitches and head off future expensive repairs.

Or if my daughter is at the movies and leaves her lights on, I can be at home and receive an urgent alert that her battery has dipped below 12 volts thereby calling her to go start her car and avoid the potentially unsafe practice of asking a stranger in a movie parking lot at 11:30pm for assistance.

And thanks to a login screen that shows a live GPS location of where my monitored vehicle is, I now never have to hear that excuse; “Sorry Dad, my phone battery was dead.” Or “I apparently had no coverage.”

By the way, guess what car my Daughter will use for her dates!

Our goal at LynxSafe, is not to “bust” our kids and have cause to punish them rather to let them know that Mom and Dad, are still along for the ride.

As our slogan says; “They have the license, they have the keys…and now you have peace of mind!”

For more information on the LynxSafe Product by LynxTelematics, contact Vincent Rush at (513) 965-6318 or at vrush@lynxtelematics.com or visit http://lynxtelematics.com

Telematics: Growing Up In Public

Chris McMahon Insurance Experts' Forum, September 7, 2012


The technology behind telematics and usage-based insurance is now mature enough that insurers can get a program up and running with relative ease. Telematics services providers, of which there are many, can manage virtually every aspect of a telematics program, from sourcing the hardware, managing connectivity, gathering and analyzing the data and creating an insurance score upon which to base the costs. That’s to be expected, and that was the overarching message from the Telematics USA show in Chicago this week.

The real value of a show like this goes beyond the overt marketing messages and lays in the first-hand validation of these ideas from insurance regulators, car makers, vendors and the insurers themselves.  Telematics is no longer some abstract technological possibility, but the eventual and natural result of multiple technological, economic and societal trends, including value shopping, perpetual connectivity, big data, consumer-loyalty programs, gamification, and more abstract ideas, like The Forever Health Monitor, which in short is about measuring everything, from individual performances to what one consumers and produces.

One of the more compelling and interesting ideas that supports the eventuality of telematics-based auto insurance came from Robin Harbage, director at Towers Watson, who spoke about the evolution of the telematics value proposition.

So far, insurers have been touting telematics as way for consumers to score discounts on auto insurance; but if you combine lower premiums and large upfront costs associated with planning, creating, testing and launching a telematics program, it’s no wonder that many insurers are taking a “wait and see attitude,” which has slowed adoption rates and delayed the achievement of a critical mass of insurers offering programs and consumers buying them.

In his presentation, Harbage described the evolution of telematics’ value:

• Marketing discounts, which appeal to self-selecting consumers, those who consider themselves to be safe drivers, or low-mileage and therefore low-risk drivers, and value shoppers. High visibility examples include Progressive’s Snapshot and State Farm’s In-Drive Co-Pilot.

• Marketing value-added services, which are designed to segment and appeal to higher value customers, (as exemplified by State Farm’s In-Drive Connect, the mid-tier offering which offers a range of reminders, diagnostics, driving tips and other apps).

• Marketing added security, (exemplified by and In-Drive Guardian, the “all-inclusive” offering that adds on incident alerts, emergency calls and roadside assistance).

• Personal goal achievement, which would be targeted at the more than 60 percent of drivers who don’t select basic usage-based insurance.

Telematics, in addition to offering a way to offer differentiated products in a crowded and
commoditized space, Harbage said, can significantly contribute to claims reduction and enhanced risk segmentation. The trick is to find the right tools to support your company’s definition of success, whether it’s a simple usage-based insurance product or a more expansive, and expensive, offering, and derive the data you need, not just the data you’re given.

He referred to the “intense data” coming out of telematics programs, which has real value for rating risk on a per-policy basis and as a segmentation tool. The caveat, however is that it’s easy to overspend and that the devices are just tools, not solutions.

Chris McMahon is a senior editor for Insurance Networking News.

Readers are encouraged to respond to Chris by using the “Add Your Comments” box below. Healso can be reached at chris.mcmahon@sourcemedia.com.

Know Your Money, Sees Huge Increase in Telematics Car Insurance Traffic

Leading financial comparison website witnesses sustained 70% increase in month-on-month searches – Research finds that number of telematics car insurance companies in the market also growing significantly, and more than 210,000 policies have been sold LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, Sep 04, 2012 Know Your Money – a leading financial comparison and advice website – has registered a 70% month-on-month increase in traffic for telematics car insurance policies. With telematics car insurance – sometimes known as ‘black box’ insurance – a device is installed into a customer’s car which monitors the way that they drive. Those that drive safely are rewarded with cheaper policies. Know Your Money’s increases in search numbers for the product have been sustained at steady rate of growth between March and August 2012, with 70% representing the average monthly increase during that period. In response, Know Your Money has polled the insurance companies that offer telematics car insurance in the UK and can reveal that more than 210,000 policies have been sold to date. Though the first UK telematics products were tested in the market as early as 2006, more than half of the total policies have been taken out over the last year, since mid-2011. The number of companies that offer the product has also grown considerably. Though the providers are generally specialist companies, the market is now a third bigger than at the beginning of this year and more of the traditional insurers are beginning to offer telematics. In addition, the growth is expected to continue to rise dramatically over the next five years. So much so, that the product could account for more than half of all car insurance policies by 2017, according to some companies’ estimates. Supporters of telematics car insurance say that the product answers two problems. As well as lower premiums, especially for young people, it is predicted that the development will lead to much safer roads, since drivers will be more careful in order to get the cheapest prices. With this in mind, Know Your Money joint founder Jason Tassie said he was pleased to witness the upwards trends. He commented: “The growth in interest for telematics insurance products has been explosive so far this year. It’s something that we’re delighted to see here at Know Your Money. “Rising car insurance policies have priced many young people out of the market in recent years and it is unfair to punish the majority because of the actions of the few. Telematics car insurance policies have been proven to reduce car insurance costs significantly for young people and the early evidence suggests that road safety will improve too. We therefore see telematics as very much a product that is in line with our values as a consumer champion in the finance market.” Rassam Fakour-Zaker, editor at Know Your Money, added: “Black box insurance products have been developing over the last few years but up until now take up has been slow. However, as well as the increase in traffic to our website we’ve had lots of requests from our audience for the latest products and tips on how to buy telematics insurance. It looks like 2012 will go down in history as the year that black box cover takes its place as a mainstream insurance product.” How it works To get cheaper rates on their car insurance, telematics policy holders must drive to a number of standards. Their average speed, how much they drive and where, their breaking habits and how fast they go round corners will all be transmitted back to the insurer by the device. The company will then analyze the data to decide how much the customer pays. To help customers improve their driving, telematics insurers will also present each customer with an analysis of their own performance. This information is made available via the Internet or is sent via text messages, allowing the customer to make interventions where necessary. Systematic price reviews are then carried out at monthly or quarterly intervals for each customer. The policy also comes with the added bonus that if the car is stolen the telematics device will be able to pinpoint where it is. A round-up of other statistics on telematics car insurance: 1500% – the growth in the telematics market since 2009 (British Insurance Brokers’ Association) 57% – The number of drivers that expect to switch to telematics car insurance by 2017 (research commissioned by GoCompare) 20% – The amount that road accidents could be reduced by through telematics insurance (Norwich Union – now Aviva) 92% – The number of drivers who back prices to be decided by the way that they drive (research commissioned by GoCompare) 26% – The number of drivers that are involved in a collision within two years of passing their test (AA/Populus survey) As well as covering a wide range of banking and insurance products within its comparison tables, Know Your Money serves its audience with a portfolio of straight talking guides, industry updates and offers for high street shops and restaurants. The Know Your Money Telematics Car Insurance Guide is available by clicking here: http://www.knowyourmoney.co.uk/telemetric-car-insurance-guide/ . The Know Your Money review for the car insurance comparison site, Go Compare is available here: http://www.knowyourmoney.co.uk/go-compare/ . About us: At Know Your Money our remit is to help our users make informed decisions when purchasing or applying for financial products. Through our product comparison tables and straight-talking guides, we help people to find suitable and affordable products that will stand them in good stead for the unknown financial demands of the future. The range of products we cover accounts for all major banking, insurance and utilities products. Since launching in 2005, Know Your Money has grown to over 300,000 unique visitors every month, with more than 50,000 opted-in recipients of our weekly e-newsletter. Re-posted by Vincent Rush of VP of Business Development for Lynx Telematics. Lynx Telematics is a Cincinnati based OEM of Telematic technology and provider of the Geo Tab product along with patented “Anti Texting and Web Browsing” technology for fleet based companies. Lynx Telematics is also the innovator and pioneer of the Lynx Safe Teen Driving Monitor that grants parents real-time data on their teenagers driving habits while blocking and disabling texting and driving. For more information, contact Vincent Rush at (513) 965-6318 or by email at vrush@lynxtelematics.com

Your Last Text...Texting While Driving

Take out your wireless device. Read the last text message you received out loud. Would reading or responding to that text message from behind the wheel of a moving vehicle be worth the risk of getting into a car accident or worse? Chances are, the text message could wait. In today's 24/7/365 world, staying connected is no longer an option. It's a necessity. With a tenfold increase in text messaging over the last three years according to CTIA — The Wireless Association, there is no question that texting is increasingly becoming the way many communicate today. And, for many, the allure to quickly read and respond — even from behind the wheel of a moving vehicle — can be tempting. But texting and driving is dangerous. FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes only. This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the U.S. Copyright Law. This video was produced by PicVid Productions http://www.picvidproductions.com/ Re-posted by Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics in Cincinnati Ohio. Lynx Telematics is the developer of the Lynxsafe Teen Driving Monitor that allows parents of teen drivers to eliminate texting and driving by their teen drivers while at the same time, ensuring safe driving habits by monitoring speed, seat belt usage, driving habits and mechanical failures. If you're a concerned parent of a teen driver and would like more information on the LynxSafe Teen Driving Monitor by Lynx Telematics, that eliminates Texting and Driving, Speeding, Distracted Driving and monitors seat belt usage, mechanical failures and allows a parent to set up geo fencing, please contact Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics at vrush@lynxtelematics.com or directly at (513) 965-6318 For more information, contact Vincent Rush at vrush@lynxtelematics.com or (513) 965-6318

Crash survivor preaches dangers of texting while driving

By Ron Recinto | The Lookout – Fri, Aug 3, 2012

Chance Bothe knows firsthand the dangers of texting and driving.

The Texas man typed this message to a friend while driving home from college earlier this year, “I need to quit texting because I could die in a car accident and then how would you feel …”

A few seconds later, Bothe’s pickup veered off a bridge and dropped down a 35-foot-deep ravine.
KHOU-TV reports he suffered extensive injuries including a broken neck, a punctured lung, and a fractured face, which would later require extensive reconstruction. He had to learn to walk again, the station reports.

“I’m very lucky that I’m not gone forever,” Bothe, 21, told KHOU-TV on his last day of a six-month rehabilitation in Houston. “I still have things to do in this world.”

One of the first things he’s doing is spreading the word of the dangers of texting and driving.

“They just need to understand, don’t do it. Don’t do it. It’s not worth losing your life,” he said. “I went to my grandmother’s funeral not long ago. And I kept thinking, it kept jumping into my head: ‘I’m surprised that’s not me in that casket.’ I came very close to that. To being gone forever.”

Texting while driving is banned in 39 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Texas does not have a statewide ban on texting while driving. However texting while driving is banned in some municipalities and school zones in the state.

Bothe promised to spread the word about the dangers of texting while behind the wheel so that others can learn from his mistake.

“What people have told me is the reason God didn’t keep you away from this Earth is because you have something special to do,” he told KHOU. And I believe what is special is that I should tell everyone not to text message and drive.”

Re-posted by Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics

Insurer: Letting us spy on your driving cuts premiums!

By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY 

If you thought devices that voluntarily spy on your driving might be a passing fad, think again: One big insurer says it’s finding that such systems are more than two-and-a-half times as good as traditional methods at predicting accidents.

Progressive Insurance just released a finding based on the program it introduced a year go that finds “loss costs” for the drivers with the highest-risk driving behaviors are about two and a half times higher than those for drivers with the lowest-risk behavior.

Though it has tried “usage-based” insurance programs for years, Progressive introduced a system called Snapshot last year in which drivers are sent a small device that plugs into their cars and relays information about their driving habits. The insurer says it measures the time of day the car is driven, distance driven, and how many hard brakes per mile the driver makes. Other insurers, such as State Farm and GMAC, also have similar programs.

As a result, Progressive says it has found that 70% of drivers who have signed up for its Snapshot program pay less for their insurance than they did before the program began:

They are saving an average of $150 a year. It’s offering to let any driver give the program a 30-day tryout, not just its own customers, to see if they will save money in the 42 states in which it is offered. Progressive officials say they want to prove that good drivers are paying unnecessarily high premiums based on the risk they present to insurers.

“For most, the rates they’re paying are higher than the risk they actually present –- and in many cases, much higher,” says Progressive CEO Glenn Renwick in a statement.
Re-posted by Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics

Insurance companies want to take the lead in marketing and managing UBI services. It makes sense since they already have familiar brands as well as the customer base. Most important, they are the ones with relationships with state regulators, keeping track of the myriad regulations and requirements of individual states.

A Company in Cincinnati, Lynx Telematics has developed a device called the Lynx Safe Teen Driving Monitor that can not only provide insurance companies with a UBI telematics device, but is the first of its kind to give parents “real-time” parental control and live monitoring of their teens driving habits, while at the same time, preventing texting and driving.

Vincent Rush, President of Business Development for Lynx Telematics, commented in Nashville recently that, “While we realize that quality and integrity of data is paramount in the UBI market, we also saw a gigantic void. Many insurance companies have the programs, however parents really have no control over their children’s driving habits, until the company reports back to them. We wanted to bring, not only savings to a parent, but peace of mind as well. As a parent, I don’t want to receive a report about my kids poor driving habits, 3 days after their funeral. I want to know the instant my teen is getting careless. I’ve already had one personal experience and I don’t care to have another”

With the LynxSafe telematic device, Mom & Dad are now, figuratively in the front passenger seat with their teen driver from the moment they pull out of the driveway”. Rush went on to say that, “Our single user interface model allows Mom and Dad to set parameters as well as receiving immediate text alert and emails when their son or daughter is speeding, driving radically, or in any type of accident as well as experiencing any mechanical break down.”
For more information on the LynxSafe Device and Lynx Telematics, contact Vincent Rush at (513) 965-6318 or vrush@lynxtelematics.com

Telematics and Customized UBI Business Models

Susan Kuchinskas looks at open niches within the lucrative UBI space

According to Towers Watson research, insurers representing 60 percent of the personal auto insurance market have implemented a version of a UBI program in at least one state. Many more are running or preparing to run internal UBI pilots. And Ptolemus Group forecasts more than 100 million vehicles will be insured with telematics globally by 2020, generating premiums of approximately $60 billion.

The advantages for consumers and insurers are clear: More accurate ratings of risk factors will lead to lower claims and lower premiums for safe drivers. Technical barriers to these offerings are minimal, but the industry will need to appease consumers and regulators.

Pay-as-you-drive solutions

Many US insurers offer pay-as-you-drive (PAYD), also called usage-based insurance (UBI). This option is available in the majority of states. These plans use a plug-in device to measure actual miles driven: The less you drive, the less you pay for insurance.

Progressive’s PAYD program, SnapShot, provides a free device that drivers plug into their cars for six months; after that, they send it back and the rate based on miles driven is finalized. State Farm’s Drive Safe & Save program uses OnStar to validate mileage, and it just inked a similar deal to let consumers transmit mileage info via Ford Sync.

Because insurance rates have long used driver-reported mileage as one rating factor for evaluating risk and setting rates, PAYD is a relatively easy product to get approved by state regulators. Each state in the US regulates auto insurance independently. (For more on US state regulation, see Insurance telematics: US state regulators tackle UBI [2].) It also makes sense to consumers, because they’re used to this metric. And it doesn’t raise privacy concerns.

Pay-how-you-drive schemes

Things get more interesting, and potentially more lucrative, when insurers use additional ratings factors that allow them to better calculate an individual driver’s risk. Telematics devices incorporating accelerometers and other sensors can provide accurate information about driving style that could impact a consumer’s risk profile. So-called pay-how-you-drive (PHYD) schemes use a variety of factors, including speed, time of day, braking, acceleration and cornering, to paint a more accurate picture.

State Farm’s PHYD plan is called In-Drive, and it uses a device created by Hughes Telematics. In-Drive has rolled out in Illinois and Utah, with more states in the offing. “Obviously, mileage is a good predictor,” says Dick Luedke, spokesman for State Farm. “The more miles you drive, the more likely it is you’re going to file a claim.”

State Farm did quite a bit of testing to find what other factors would be most useful for rating an individual’s risk by installing the devices in the cars of associates across the nation. The secret sauce, of course, is the algorithm each insurer uses to weigh all these factors. Each firm guards them as trade secrets. Luedke says drily, “I doubt we’d be too specific.”

Simply gathering data from telematics devices is not that difficult. Doug VanDagens, director, Connected Services Solutions at Ford Motor Company, says that, while the agreement with State Farm calls for only transmitting mileage information, Ford already can technically accommodate transmission of any metric needed for PHYD. In fact, Ford’s Crew Chief product for fleets, powered by Telogis, provides information on braking, acceleration, maintenance warnings and more.

“Anything happening in the vehicle, we can communicate outside of it,” VanDagens says. It’s easier and cheaper to do so via Sync, he points out, because Sync uses the driver’s cell phone for connectivity. “We can provide all of that relatively easily, as soon as insurance companies want to set up the programs.”

Insurance companies want to take the lead in marketing and managing UBI services. It makes sense since they already have familiar brands as well as the customer base. Most important, they are the ones with relationships with state regulators, keeping track of the myriad regulations and requirements of individual states.

A Company in Cincinnati, Lynx Telematics has developed a device called the Lynx Safe Teen Driving Monitor that can not only provide insurance companies with a UBI telematics device, but is the first of its kind to give parents “real-time” parental control and live monitoring of their teens driving habits, while at the same time, preventing texting and driving.

Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics discusses the LynxSafe Teen Driving Monitor

Vincent Rush, President of Business Development for Lynx Telematics, commented in Nashville recently that, “While we realize that quality and integrity of data is paramount in the UBI market, we also saw a gigantic void. Many insurance companies have the programs, however parents really have no control over their children’s driving habits, until the company reports back to them. We wanted to bring, not only savings to a parent, but peace of mind as well. As a parent, I don’t want to receive a report about my kids poor driving habits, 3 days after their funeral. I want to know the instant my teen is getting careless. I’ve already had one personal experience and I don’t care to have another”

With the LynxSafe telematic device, "Mom & Dad are now, figuratively in the front passenger seat with their teen driver from the moment they pull out of the driveway”. Rush went on to say that, “Our single user interface model allows Mom and Dad to set parameters as well as receiving immediate text alert and emails when their son or daughter is speeding, driving radically, or in any type of accident as well as experiencing any mechanical break down.”

The manage-how-you-drive model

As consumers get more comfortable with these products, they may shrug off the Big Brother warnings and embrace the manage-how-you-drive (MHYD) model. With MHYD, drivers get feedback that helps them improve and potentially lower their rates.

American Family Insurance says its Teen Safe Driver Program has helped teens reduce risky driving behaviors by 70 percent. The program includes a free in-car device attached to the review mirror. When incidents like extreme braking, cornering, and accelerating too fast—as well as actual crashes—take place, it saves eight seconds of footage prior to the mishap and the four seconds after it. The information is transmitted wirelessly to American Family’s data center for review by driver coaches.

Parents get a weekly driver report card that measures the teen’s performance against safe driving objectives and peer averages. They can log in to see the report, watch video of incidents, and get tips for safer driving that they can share with the kid.

State Farm’s In-Drive, created by Hughes Telematics and currently offered only in the US states of Utah and Illinois, provides an entrée for State Farm into stronger customer relationships and value-added services competitive with OnStar and motor clubs. It offers one-touch emergency response, roadside assistance, stolen vehicle location assistance, vehicle diagnostic alerts and maintenance reminders, plus parental monitoring tools for location services and speed alerts.

It also includes the MHYD program, Drive Safe & Save. In-Drive will provide driving performance data, and the customer’s savings will be based on mileage, turns, acceleration, braking, speed and time of day vehicle is operated.

New revenue streams

While State Farm will provide discounts on rates of up to 50 percent for the safest, lowest-mileage consumers, In-Drive also represents an opportunity for new, recurring revenue streams. The service offers four subscription levels with additional services like stolen vehicle assistance, emergency calling and alerts for events like speeding, with subscription fees from $7 to $22 per month.

Tim Moroney, insurance regulatory attorney with the law firm of Barger & Wolen LLP, thinks these services can help insurers get off the rate-cutting treadmill. “Personalized automotive insurance is very competitive,” Moroney says. “While cheaper premiums are usually the biggest hook, [by coupling services with telematics] you can offer more things. Insurers are now offering concierge benefits. They can do all things automotive and be very creative.”

Insurers could take it even further by offering classes, content, applications and third-party offers. The strategy could be similar to that used by health maintenance organizations that provide weight-loss and smoking cessation classes to members. (For more on new sources of revenue, see Consumers and UBI: The power of value-added services [3] and Telematics and UBI: How to increase consumer acceptance [4].)

Says Frederic Bruneteau, managing director of Ptolemus Consulting Group, “Thanks to insurance telematics, the insurer can become an insurance service provider. Today, the notion of insurance is, ‘They take your money and then you hear from them if you have a problem.’ With telematics, they have a real-time relationship with any policy holder.”

Susan Kuchinskasis a regular contributor to TU.

Momspeak: The perils of teen driving, and letting go

 Momspeak: The perils of teen driving, and letting go By Tracy Grant I remember tucking their two premature bodies — each weighing less than five pounds — into the newly installed car seats in the back of the Toyota Corolla for the 12-minute drive from Holy Cross Hospital to our home in Silver Spring. My husband drove the back roads because fewer cars meant lower chances of a collision, a lesser likelihood that another driver would grow angry at and aggressive with the car that crept along at five miles below the speed limit. When we pulled into the driveway, it was with audible sighs of relief. Never again would a car journey with our sons be so fraught with anxiety and perceived peril.

 That is, until you make the appointment for that once-sub-five-pounder to take his driving test. Christopher has had his permit for the required nine months. We have spent time virtually every weekend driving. If I am to be fair, I have to concede that I no longer sit in the passenger seat not breathing, knuckles white, my foot depressing an imaginary brake. He has mastered changing lanes, highway driving, night driving, even driving in the rain. I am almost comfortable with him driving his brother and me almost anywhere we need to go. In an emergency, I would feel that he could get me where I needed to go.

 In short, I was slowly — very slowly — moving toward acceptance of the idea of Christopher, having his driver’s license. That is, until the release of two studies last month by the American Automobile Association and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on the perils of teen driving.

 The AAA study added new data to the long-proven fact that teens are the most dangerous drivers on the road. Specifically, the research found that the chances of a fatal accident increase by almost half when a 16- or 17-year-old driver has one teenage passenger. The risk doubles when the teen driver has two teen buddies in the car and quadruples when the teen passengers number three or more.

 The Insurance Institute study found that teen deaths in automobile accidents have fallen since 1996, when tougher rules requiring graduated licensing for teen drivers were enacted. (Graduated licensing refers to requiring teens to have a set number of supervised hours of driving — generally about 60 — before they can get what is called a provisional license that imposes some restrictions, including on the number of minors in the car and on night driving.) But it also reported that if states enacted tougher licensing rules, 500 deaths and 9,500 crashes involving teen drivers could be avoided each year.

When Christopher started the driver’s ed process, the thought of driving with him for 60 hours seemed daunting and interminable. At times during the last nine months, it has proved to be that — for both of us. But is he a better driver at 16 than I was? Absolutely. Would I object if the state required him to get another 10 or 20 hours of supervised driving before he could take his license test? Absolutely not. A friend whose son got his license within the past year told me she offered him this bit of wisdom before he took the test: “Failing the test doesn’t make you a bad driver, and passing it doesn’t make you a good one.”

 I have warned Christopher that having his license isn’t likely to change his driving habits very much. He can drive just about anyplace we go as a family, but the notion of my tossing him the car keys and offering a cheery “be safe” as he, his brother and some buddies go off to the movies doesn’t seem to be in the cards.

“We know that carrying young passengers is a huge risk, but it’s also a preventable one,” said AAA Foundation President Peter Kissinger in presenting his study’s findings. Oh, and did I mention that the other sub-five-pounder is finishing up his two-week driver’s ed course this week? Here we go again.

 Tracy Grant is the editor of KidsPost. Her Momspeak column runs every other week.

If you're a concerned parent of a teen driver and would like more information on the LynxSafe Teen Driving Monitor by Lynx Telematics, that eliminates Texting and Driving, Speeding, Distracted Driving and monitors seat belt usage, mechanical failures and allows a parent to set up geo fencing, please contact Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics at vrush@lynxtelematics.com or directly at (513) 965-6318

Newest prom danger: Texts

Distracted driving latest focus of annual mock crash

 MARION - Mock crashes in the spring are as much the norm for high schools as their proms and graduations.

Once a message not to drink and drive, they are now used as a tool against distracted driving as well.
The Marion post of the Ohio Highway Patrol staged a mock crash attended by students from Elgin, Marion Catholic, Pleasant and Ridgedale high schools Monday morning at the Marion County Fairgrounds. Firefighters from the Marion City and Marion Township fire departments worked together to free "victims" from vehicles using the Jaws of Life and saws.

Students portrayed the victims. Ridgedale's Samantha Burns was the fatality, on the ground covered in a white sheet. Highway patrol trooper Ben Addy gave the safe-driving speech, walking through the grandstand and talking to students with the crash scene in the background.

He shared some stories, including one in which two family members died in a crash caused by a distracted driver trying to pass a semitrailer.

"That vehicle is a missile," Addy said, recalling something a past post commander used to say about the dangers of unsafe driving. "We are hoping you guys will listen to us."

Distracted driving has become part of the talk of law enforcement as they educate teens about the consequences of unsafe driving.

Lt. Lance Shearer, commander of the patrol's Marion post, said dangers include texting and driving as well as changing the radio or eating while driving. He said distracted driving is a huge issue of concern when it comes to causes of avoidable crashes.

"You know kids are doing it," he said.

A Pew Internet and American Life survey completed in 2009 found that 34 percent of 16- and 17-year-old teen texter respondents said they had texted while driving. The report estimated that about 26 percent of all American teens ages 16 to 17 text while driving.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 16 percent of fatal crashes and 20 percent of injury crashes in 2009 involved reports of distracted driving. Sixteen percent of all drivers younger than 20 involved in fatal crashes were reportedly distracted while driving.

As far as dangers, a Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study stated that sending or receiving a text takes the driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. At 55 mph, that would be the same as driving the length of a football field blind.

The issue has been discussed in the Legislature. The Ohio Senate recently passed a bill that would ban texting while driving. The bill, which must be approved by the Ohio House, would make texting and driving a primary offense for teens younger than 18.

That means law enforcement could pull teens over for the offense without spotting any other offenses and teens could face a 60-day license suspension for a first offense.

Ridgedale student Hannah Loper said she volunteered to portray a crash victim because it sounded like fun and teaches teens not to text and drive. She and other students agreed that it is a problem.
While talking about distracted driving, troopers also lectured against the dangers of drinking and driving. Addy told students not to drink considering they are underage, but added that if they do, to only do so in moderation and not drive for any reason.

He talked about the scenes that first responders come across as he referred to an area of broken glass on a van's windshield. That area, he said, is commonly caused by the head of a driver not wearing a seat belt.

"A lot of times you will find hair, skin, blood right in the windshield," he said.

Student volunteers described their experience as interesting but a bit uncomfortable.

"I think the Jaws of Life is pretty scary," said Loper, who portrayed the driver of a car involved in the crash. She sat with a sheet over her as firefighters cut off and removed the car's top.

"It was a new experience but scary at the same time," she said. "The saw is by your head."

Burns spent the entire time lying on the ground as if she was dead. A firefighter laid a sheet over her and continued to the car as he and others worked to free victims.

Addy explained that first responders focus on the living because that's who they can still help.
"I thought it was pretty scary," Burns said. "I was supposed to be dead. They said, 'She's dead. Don't worry about her.'"

Reporter Kurt Moore: 740-375-5151, kdmoore@ marionstar.com or on Twitter @StarKurtMoore

For information on the LynxSafe Teen Driving Monitor, that disables texting and driving, along with web browsing, contact Development Manager Vincent Rush at Lynx Telematics in Cincinnati, Ohio at 513-965-6318 or 513-702-0495. Vincent Rush can also be reached by email at vrush@lynxtelematics.com or visit http://lynxtelematics.com for information on Lynx Telematics.

Ohio Senate votes to outlaw texting while driving

Photo by LynxSafe and the new LynxSafe Anti-Texting / Teen Safe Driving Monitor

COLUMBUS — Even as some members conceded that they are as guilty as anyone, the Ohio Senate voted 25-8 across party lines today to make Ohio the 38th state to criminalize texting while driving.

They also went a step further to prohibit teen drivers from operating or programming a cell phone, portable computer, directional device, or any other electronic device while driving.

An adult who texts and drives would be guilty of a minor misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $150. Like Ohio’s mandatory seat belt law, it would be a secondary offense requiring police to have another reason for pulling the driver over.

But for the teen under the age of 18 who violates the broader ban on electronic devices, it would be a primary offense, meaning police would need no other reason for the traffic stop. The first offense could lead to a $150 fine and a 60-day license suspension. The second would carry a $300 fine and one-year suspension.

Sen. John Eklund (R., Chardon) pointed to a previously enacted law that made it illegal for a teen driver to have more than one non-family passenger in his vehicle as evidence that curbing driver distractions saves lives.

“Over the course of three years, a 26 percent reduction in the number of fatalities of that group of drivers in the state of Ohio… by removing a distraction,’’ he said. “There is nobody in this room who would suggest that the use of these gizmos is not a distraction…

“When this bill passes, don’t violate the law,’’ Mr. Eklund said. “It’s really very simple, and you’re not then going to be called a hypocrite.’’

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Rex Damschroder (R., Fremont) and Nancy Garland (D., New Albany), overwhelmingly passed the Ohio House last year but without the more restrictive provisions applying to teen drivers. Mr. Damschroder introduced it after a newly licensed 16-year-old girl in his district, while texting, crossed the center line and killed a motorcyclist headed in the opposite direction.

Some opponents of the bill, however, argued that it infringes on individual rights while including so many exceptions as to render it unenforceable.

“There are 10 exemptions for adult drivers to utilize electronic devices behind the wheel…,’’ said Sen. Capri Cafaro (D., Hubbard). “This definition (of “texting’’) basically says that… I can use my phone to read the newspaper, play games, and write myself a note because it’s not an e-mail, a text message, or instant message. I certainly don’t feel that this bill fulfills the objective that it sets out to achieve.’’

Among members representing northwest Ohio, the bill drew support from Sens. Mark Wagoner (R., Ottawa Hills), Cliff Hite (R., Findlay), and David Burke (R., Marysville). The sole northwest vote in opposition was cast by Sen. Edna Brown (D., Toledo), who offered an unsuccessful amendment to make it more restrictive.

“Instead of Ohio passing a controversial law with exemptions and possible loopholes, why don’t we pass meaningful legislation that requires all communication while driving in Ohio to be totally hands free,’’ she said.

The bill now returns to the House for approval of the Senate changes. It would not override more stringent ordinances enacted in local communities. The texting ban in Toledo, for instance, carries a fine of $1,000 plus six months in jail.

Sen. Bill Seitz (R., Cincinnati) argued that having state and local laws could lead to a driver being punished twice for the same activity.

For further information on the LynxSafe Ant-Text / Teen Safe Driving Monitor, Contact Vincent Rush at Lynx Telematics in Milford, Ohio at (513) 965-6318 or vrush@lynxtelematics.com

Telematics: Not Just for Personal Anymore

While the use of telematics-based insurance to date has primarily been seen in monitoring personal-vehicle use, insurers are increasingly relying on the underwriting tool in the commercial-fleet and trucking industries.

“If I’m doing a risk assessment for an insurance company, a lot of underwriters are looking for some kind of refined [global positioning system],” says Beth Lowrey, senior associate for Mercury Associates Inc.—a Washington D.C.-based management consulting firm for large fleets.

Insurance players on the commercial  side are adopting programs to tap into the wealth of knowledge a telematics system can deliver—and initial data looks very promising for loss ratios, sources say.

“We’ve seen very good improvement in frequency and severity,” says Scott Stevens, vice president of captive and specialty programs at The Hartford, which launched its FleetAheadprogram more than two years ago.

Through a partnership with a telematics service provider (all insurers in this space partner with a provider instead of developing its own device, as in the personal auto insurance market), he adds, the Hartford’s loss-control staff can work with clients to improve loss costs and exposures.

Other insurers are in the process of doing the same. “We are there to work with management in order to tune their ability to improve driver performance,” says Chris Hayes, risk-control director of transportation services from Travelers, which early this year began IntelliDrive Fleet Safety Solutions for commercial lines.

Travelers partners with several telematics providers for the actual numbers. “We do not have any data feed,” explains Beth Tirone, Travelers’ senior director for commercial auto product development. “This is strictly providing services from a risk-control perspective.”

Liberty Mutual, too, is finding value in telematics. The carrier unveiled its Onboard Advisorloss-prevention and risk-management services exclusively through Liberty Mutual Agency Corporation regional companies in 2010 to small and medium-sized fleets. The insurer uses statistics from its approved telematics partners to create a score used for pricing at the time of renewal.

Onboard Advisor Program Manager Chris Carver says Liberty Mutual in the past six months has been contacted by several telematics providers wishing to partner up.

“The industry is growing fast,” he says. “It’s a great opportunity for businesses that now starting to grow [after the economic downturn]. Owners can stay in control of their fleet and control costs.”

After all, telematics is not a one-way street of benefits to the insurer. The insured can improve safety, fuel use, customer satisfaction and prevent or limit losses from theft.

There is enough data—or at least sufficient anecdotal evidence—to support the technology investment, which is decreasing as competition increases. Systems can also be leased.

“If you use it and use it right, [you’ll benefit],” Lowrey says. “You’ll see it in your bottom line. And you’ll see it in your insurance premiums.”

The applications are numerous. Fleet owners acting as their own risk managers can track drivers’ locations, monitor a driver’s habits like hard-braking and accelerating, and reduce fuel consumption by looking at the data to notice trends such as the impact of idling, or the use of one route versus another. Carver says owners can cut down on “unnecessary wear-and-tear on their fleet.”

Owners have also reported a reduction in brake-pads costs, Stevens adds, because programs centered on telematics “create better, more safety-conscious drivers.”

The value for insurers extends beyond potential reductions in loss-cost trends and narrowing poor risks. Telematics may also help preserve the exposure base. By cutting down on costs for its insureds, businesses can remain profitable.

For the insurer, information can be provided by some systems to give a much more accurate view of an accident. Was the traffic light green or red? How fast was the driver going?

Insurers say information yielded from telematics systems can also help cut down on fraud. Using data on such critical factors as speed, claims professionals can determine whether an alleged injury was in fact possible.

The industry appears to have assuaged the fear of Big Brother. Owners and operators are taking to the idea, and insurers with telematics-based programs are sticking by buyers’ sides to assist in rolling out systems and fostering an environment of constant improvement rather than conveying a dark cloud of constant criticism. 

“This doesn’t work if management isn’t fully engaged,” says Hayes. “We’re looking to foster owners as coaches while we get them comfortable with the idea and our involvement.”

More insurers relying on data-gathering tools in the commercial-fleet, trucking industries

BY CHAD HEMENWAY, PROPERTYCASUALTY360.COM

April 6, 2012 

Lowrey, who also owns a risk-management and consulting service for small and medium fleets, says drivers’ unions have voiced concerns as telematics gain popularity, but the fact is, “Owners are looking at performance anyway,” implying that drivers would still be watched closely regardless of the new technology.

Fleet owners typically pitch the idea to drivers by focusing on safety and job security.

“’If you get hijacked, we want to know—we want to know where to look for you,’” Lowrey says owners will say to drivers. “But the majority of drivers have been around and they don’t worry about it, so long as it doesn’t seem like you’re nitpicking them to death.” 

Industry-wide, telematics usage remains in its infancy. Solid favorable loss-cost trends for the industry may not be readily available and use may be limited to big insurance brands but, according to a report by research and consulting firm Celent, telematics use is growing and “not going away any time soon.”  

Critics also say telematics could “cannibalize” books of business, based on the idea that policies could be written at lower premiums based on more hard data. Yet that same data would also help better calculate risks, Celent adds, noting it “would be better to cannibalize one’s own book than watch someone else do it.” 

Baseball and Insurance: Don’t Make Early Assumptions About the Data

Photo by Cincinnati Sports Photographer Vincent Rush

By Robert Regis Hyle, PropertyCasualty360.com

April 2, 2012
Although I touched on the sport in last weeks blog, since this week is the real start of the Major League Baseball season—despite the fact two American teams played in Japan last week (with a Japanese tech company’s logo on the batting helmets)—it’s time for my annual observation about analyzing data in different ways.

Since last season, the predictive analytics book Moneyball was turned into a movie and both Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill were nominated for Oscars for their roles, which should have excited data geeks. After all, when you can get Pitt to portray someone who believes in statistical analysis of data you’ve won half the battle, right? (He could do for actuaries what Julia Roberts did for paralegals.)

The benefit insurers have gained over baseball teams in the use of advanced statistical data is that pretty much all insurance companies believe there is value to be gained from the data. There are plenty of baseball executives and managers that only believe what they see on the field—even if they don’t always know what they are looking at.

As user-based insurance expands across the personal lines insurers—my agent tells me Nationwide will be coming out with a new personal auto telematics product this summer—it will be interesting to see how they interpret the driving data they receive.

I spoke with a friend about telematics a couple of weeks ago at the IASA Boot Camp and she said she was not looking forward to widespread use of telematics because she admits that she drives too fast.
The safe assumption is that people who drive fast are bad drivers. But what if, over time, the statistical data insurers accumulate through telematics leads us to findings that we didn’t expect.

Just as baseball managers continue to waste outs by having good batters lay down a sacrifice bunt with a fast runner on first base, will insurance companies continue to believe that those who have too many speeding tickets are bad drivers and that they don’t need telematics to prove such a belief is true—or maybe even false.

We shouldn’t be afraid of collecting more data; we should be afraid if we assume that new data always verifies old beliefs.

So let that batter swing away with a runner on first base and let telematics tell us what the real factors are behind poor driving that leads to accidents and, inevitably, claims. We might all be surprised what the predictive analytics of that data tells us.

Re-posted by Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics

  Lynx Telematics, located in Milford Ohio, is an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacture) that specializes in developing proprietary fleet GPS Tracking devices for fleets of all sizes and functions.
For information on how Lynx Telematics can help your company save an average of $2500 per vehicle annually, contact Business Development Manager, VincentRush at (513) 965-6318

Lynx Telematics is an OEM that controls design, engineering, firmware, software development, IT support and manufacturing processes of our product, allowing us to produce the highest quality product in our industry, while offering our customers competitive pricing.

 

As your partner, we provide ongoing training and support to insure that the product is properly sold to the end user, maximizing the re-sellers profitability.

As one of the pioneers in telematics technologies, Lynx Telematics provides our clients with powerful end-to-end vehicle telematics tools. Our technology offers a real solution that delivers safety, saves money and provides an unprecedented level of peace of mind to our customers.

Telematics can help with Distracted Driving

From ABI Research

Posted Tue, 27 Mar 2012 04:51:00 EDT by David Alexander

​A recent study by the AAA in the USA revealed that distracted driving was a bigger problem than ever, especially for teenage drivers. With electronic devices the number one problem, there were plenty of other causes, such as conversations with other occupants, personal grooming, and eating and drinking.

The one positive conclusion was that there was a significant improvement when an adult was present.

Now while it is not practical for adults to always accompany teenagers in their cars, telematics systems offer a range of alternatives that can have a similar beneficial effect. Some can restrict certain aspects of the vehicle such as music volume or maximum speed, and others can report on incidents such as sudden braking. In-car video systems are also available.

It is time that the safety aspects of telematics were given more attention in marketing materials. This and incentives to install ADAS would do a lot more to rectify the distracted driving epidemic than more laws banning specific activities when driving.

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