To mark the milestone, Octo drove connected cars around London, Rome and Boston, collecting and analysing the telematics data from each trip to demonstrate the importance of safe driving to cut motoring costs and improve road safety. This data analysed every aspect of driving behaviour, including acceleration, braking approach to corners and a range of other actions.
The global telematics industry is rapidly growing. Globally, there are around 12 million telematics insurance policies according to the Ptolemus Usage-Based Insurance Global Report 2016, which predicts growth to nearly 100 million policies worldwide by 2020. The same report expects nearly 50% of the world’s vehicles to be insured with telematics-based policies by 2030. With insurance premiums soaring and the cost of driving rising steadily, telematics can save drivers up to 30% on their premiums, based on their safe behavior on the roads.
Octo has been at the forefront of the industry since its inception and the large increase in cars connected is a reflection of the increased understanding and adoption of UBI by insurers and consumers alike.
Fabio Sbianchi, CEO, Octo Telematics said: “Consumers are becoming more aware of the value of paying their own bill, rather than being charged premiums according to categories such as age, location or assumed mileage. Insurers are also looking for ways to work more closely with their customers and increase loyalty. These conditions, added to the rapid rise of insurance premiums, are perfectly suited to telematics and Octo’s great growth over the last year is a reflection of these strong conditions.”
Telematics is the driving force behind connecting everyday vehicles to the internet and the ongoing development of driverless cars. Sales of connected car products are expected to increase almost four times between 2015 and 2020, adding more than US$149 billion in revenues in the passenger car segment alone. Vehicles are becoming increasingly sophisticated Internet of Things (IoT) devices in their own right and the software and sensors currently utilised in telematics are facilitating this. It is the transmission and receipt of the same data that is used in UBI policies that will help keep driverless cars moving and plugged into safer, smarter cities of the future.
Andrew Lee, Head of Market Intelligence and Analysis, Octo Telematics said: “While true driverless cars may be some way off, the technology for them is available now. Modern cars are being manufactured with a high degree of connectivity which will provide an increasing number of financial benefits to motorists.We are constantly looking at developing our telematics offering, including not only increased device and sensor sophistication, but also how we are able to analyse and use the data to transform the transport experience.”
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