NZ Autocar
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Electric
  • Industry
  • Bikes
  • Classics
  • Motorsport
  • Prices
    • New Bike Prices
    • New Car Prices
    • Make
      • Alfa Romeo News and Reviews
      • Aston Martin News and Reviews
      • Audi News and Reviews
      • Bentley News and Reviews
      • BMW News and Reviews
      • BYD News and Reviews
      • Chevrolet News and Reviews
      • Citroen News and Reviews
      • Cupra News and Reviews
      • Ferrari News and Reviews
      • Fiat News and Reviews
      • Ford News and Reviews
      • GWM News and Reviews
      • Haval News and Reviews
      • Honda News and Reviews
      • Hyundai News and Reviews
      • INEOS News and Reviews
      • Isuzu News and Reviews
      • Jaguar News and Reviews
      • Jeep News and Reviews
      • KIA News and Reviews
      • Lamborghini News and Reviews
      • Land Rover News and Reviews
      • LDV News and Reviews
      • Lexus News and Reviews
      • Lotus News and Reviews
      • Mahindra News and Reviews
      • Maserati News and Reviews
      • Mazda News and Reviews
      • McLaren News and Reviews
      • Mercedes-Benz News and Reviews
      • MG News and Reviews
      • MINI News and Reviews
      • Mistubishi News and Reviews
      • Nissan News and Reviews
      • Omoda News and Reviews
      • Opel News and Reviews
      • Peugeot News and Reviews
      • Polestar News and Reviews
      • Porsche News and Reviews
      • RAM News and Reviews
      • Renault News and Reviews
      • Skoda News and Reviews
      • SsangYong News and Reviews
      • Subaru News and Reviews
      • Suzuki News and Reviews
      • Tesla News and Reviews
      • Toyota News and Reviews
      • Volkswagen News and Reviews
      • Volvo News and Reviews
  • Subscribe
    • Print
    • Digital
  • Contact us
    • Contact us
    • Advertise
NZ Autocar
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Keen for insurance priced according to how you drive?

Words: Matthew Hansen

by Matthew Hansen
January 25, 2022
driving, traffic, safety, commuting, insurance

driving, traffic, safety, commuting, insurance

The world of car insurance is in for an overhaul in more ways than one. The hardware in electric vehicles often requires specific repair programmes, which could impact the way insurers deal with them in the long run. And then there’s all the advancements in live telemetry and data logging in just about every new car. 

The latter has been seen as a bit of an opportunity for insurance companies. Several brands have rolled out schemes around the world (known as ‘telematics’ in the industry) that price insurance according to a driver’s habits — how often they break speed limits, how harshly they stop for junctions, how erratic or relaxed they are behind the wheel according to the data. 

Some of these systems are more agricultural than others. In late 2020, Tower Insurance debuted an app called GoCarma, which tracked a person’s driving through their phone’s Bluetooth — collating braking and acceleration data, and how often users would use their phones while driving. Those with a good score would then be able to get a discount off their insurance. 

Tesla has a similar scheme, albeit one which uses a lot more metrics generated by the car itself. It launched the scheme in 2019, although only in five different American states. It works in a fundamentally similar way to the Tower app, but with much more depth. Roll-out has been stifled by American regulators and barriers around privacy. 

Now General Motors is keen to follow suit. Overnight it confirmed plans to launch its own behaviour- and algorithm-based insurance product for GM customers in Arizona, Illinois, and Michigan, with the aim of getting regulator approval by March. 

“I’m very excited about what we have in market and its ability for us to show benefit to the insurance equation,” said Andrew Rose, president of OnStar Insurance and GM’s vice president of global innovation. He added that GM aims to roll out the scheme in a dozen more states in the medium term.

GM says that its telematic system will monitor brake applications, accelerator applications, steering inputs, and things like how often drivers use their seat belts. In future, the system is also expected to use a car’s sensor data for even more of a painted picture, as well as potentially one day monitoring a driver’s head and eye movement. 

Curiously, GM also says that those caught out driving poorly according to their metrics won’t be facing any surcharges early on — although this may change in the future. 

One of the frequently asked questions of these incentives is how these systems can distinguish whether certain sudden inputs done in avoidance of danger aren’t bad behaviours. If a driver has to swerve to avoid a pedestrian suddenly walking in front of them, or slam on the brakes to let an ambulance cross an intersection, will the system acknowledge this as a good behaviour trait or a bad one? 

Tesla’s recent much debated push to give its drivers a rating out of one hundred before granting them access to Full Self Driving could be considered a window into this question. Drivers would often report that any sudden stops, even those justified, would result in their driver safety rating slipping downwards. 

Previous Post

Electrification “chosen by politicians, not industry” says Stellantis boss

Next Post

Michael Schumacher’s old Mercedes-AMG wagon could be yours

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Free NZ Autocar Enewsletter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NZ Autocar is New Zealand’s leading automotive magazine. Delivering news reviews from the automotive world, including commentary from leading automotive writers and covers the scope of motoring including new cars, classic cars, EVs and motorbikes.

Our team

Publisher: Mark Petch
General Manager: Gavin Shaw
Editor: Kyle Cassidy
Senior Editor: Peter Louisson
News Editor: Harrison Wade
Art Director: Alex Schultz
Photographer: Isaac Western

To Subscribe

nzautocar.subscription.co.nz

Contact Us

Advertising:
Gavin Shaw
[email protected]
.
Editorial:
Kyle Cassidy
[email protected]
.
NZ Autocar
PO Box 44 304
Point Chevalier
Auckland 1246
New Zealand

Categories

Useful Links

Home
News
Motorsport
New Car Prices
New Bike Prices
Subscriptions
Competitions
Contact Us
Advertising
Terms and Conditions

© 2021 AUTOCAR 2016 LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Electric
  • Industry
  • Bikes
  • Classics
  • Motorsport
  • Prices
    • New Bike Prices
    • New Car Prices
    • Make
      • Alfa Romeo News and Reviews
      • Aston Martin News and Reviews
      • Audi News and Reviews
      • Bentley News and Reviews
      • BMW News and Reviews
      • BYD News and Reviews
      • Chevrolet News and Reviews
      • Citroen News and Reviews
      • Cupra News and Reviews
      • Ferrari News and Reviews
      • Fiat News and Reviews
      • Ford News and Reviews
      • GWM News and Reviews
      • Haval News and Reviews
      • Honda News and Reviews
      • Hyundai News and Reviews
      • INEOS News and Reviews
      • Isuzu News and Reviews
      • Jaguar News and Reviews
      • Jeep News and Reviews
      • KIA News and Reviews
      • Lamborghini News and Reviews
      • Land Rover News and Reviews
      • LDV News and Reviews
      • Lexus News and Reviews
      • Lotus News and Reviews
      • Mahindra News and Reviews
      • Maserati News and Reviews
      • Mazda News and Reviews
      • McLaren News and Reviews
      • Mercedes-Benz News and Reviews
      • MG News and Reviews
      • MINI News and Reviews
      • Mistubishi News and Reviews
      • Nissan News and Reviews
      • Omoda News and Reviews
      • Opel News and Reviews
      • Peugeot News and Reviews
      • Polestar News and Reviews
      • Porsche News and Reviews
      • RAM News and Reviews
      • Renault News and Reviews
      • Skoda News and Reviews
      • SsangYong News and Reviews
      • Subaru News and Reviews
      • Suzuki News and Reviews
      • Tesla News and Reviews
      • Toyota News and Reviews
      • Volkswagen News and Reviews
      • Volvo News and Reviews
  • Subscribe
    • Print
    • Digital
  • Contact us
    • Contact us
    • Advertise

© 2021 AUTOCAR 2016 LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.