Company Advocates Using Mobile Device Data in Auto Insurance Programs

Orlando -- Free-Press-Release.com-- Sep 6, 2011 -- Insurance companies could save some policyholders money—and maybe even their lives—by monitoring the use of mobile devices behind the wheel, according to a company that markets software designed to combat distracted driving.

In a recently released report, Virginia-based ZoomSafer says insurers should add cell phone-tracking technology to usage-based programs that offer discounts on auto insurance for teenagers and other motorists who drive relatively few miles and display safe driving habits.

At least 13 insurance companies currently offer discounts to policyholders who verify that they log low mileage. And an increasing number of companies—including State Farm, Progressive and Allstate—have voluntary programs through which customers can have telematic devices installed in their cars to monitor data such as how fast they drive, how they apply the brakes and when they drive.

ZoomSafer says it only makes sense to use high-tech means of checking whether policyholders are talking on cell phones, texting or Web browsing while driving.

Usage-based programs “are inherently rich with driving data, and it’s logical that insurers would want to get as much value from this data as possible,” Dave Huber, one of the authors of the report, said in a statement. “Using such data to help measure the effect of cell phone use on driving behaviors and crashes is a logical step toward further improved pricing and actuarial intelligence.”

Officials at ZoomSafer—which sells software that can automatically prevent cell phone use by motorists and enable employers to check whether any mobile devices are being employed behind the wheel—say gauging the effects of mobile device use on motorists’ habits is a no-brainer for usage-based programs.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 5,474 people were killed on U.S. roadways in 2009, and 448,000 were injured, in motor vehicle crashes involving cell phone use or other types of distracted driving.

Because the problem usually comes to light only in the form of police reports, NHTSA officials say, the extent of distracted driving is probably underestimated.

Source: http://www.distraction.gov/stats-and-facts/index.html

To learn more about this and other insurance and safety issues, readers can go to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/teenagers/ where they will find informative resource pages and a rate-comparison generator that can help users quickly evaluate their coverage options.

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Online Auto Insurance
Benjamin Zitney
http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/