Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - (Page 20A) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY JULY 21, 2008 • 20A Pay As You Drive insurance tracks cars to trim costs So far, the promise of lower premiums has been elusive Tony Lewin autonews@crain.com Drivers can check CO2 ‘tire print’ United Kingdom insurer More Th>n, pronounced “more than,” is testing a program that tracks customers’ vehicles by satellite to estimate their carbon dioxide emissions. The program, known as Green Wheels, uses navigation-style technology to transmit data on speed, acceleration, braking and steering. The data are used to form a picture of a customer’s driving style and his likely CO2 “tire print.” Motorists who sign up can compare their monthly CO2 performance with those of others on the Green Wheels Web site. They are graded from A for excellent to G, the lowest grade given at U.K. schools, for a driving style that leads to high levels of CO2 emissions. Although the driver’s CO2 score does not influence his insurance premium, Keith Maxwell, head of core products at More Th>n, believes that one day, it may. “If someone is not accelerating, braking and cornering hard, that tells us he is a better risk,” Maxwell says. “There’s demand for a product which allows people to learn about fuel efficiency, and a benefit for us is that we can learn about driver behavior.” — Tony Lewin The same satellite-based navigation and vehicle-tracking technology that can direct you to the closest gasoline station also could lead you to lower car insurance premiums. Maybe. Norwich Union, Great Britain’s biggest insurer, and Royal Sun Alliance have harnessed high-technology satellite systems to bring their customers a better deal. They had hoped to attract new policyholders with lower premiums. But so far, the payoff has been elusive. The theory is simple. Policyholders’ premiums are calculated based on where they drive and, in particular, what time of day — or, worse, night — they drive. That’s where the satellite tracking comes in. First in the market was Norwich Union, which launched its Pay As You Drive policy in October 2006. But that policy has been put on hold, says spokesman Erik Nelson. wheel at night, it could reduce the number of accidents and, consequently, the cost of premiums. “So we turned to telematics for our DriveTime policy,” Maxwell says. “The box in the car can tell when the customer is or isn’t driving, and if you don’t drive in what we call the red hours — between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. — you get 40 percent off your premium.” Aware that even the most diligent of drivers occasionally may travel during the red hours, More Th>n permits it but then charges a fee of about $50. It is automatically deducted from the customer’s bank account. The typical young driver’s premium is $2,000 to $3,000 a year. A DriveTime policy can trim that by 40 percent. So the deterrent effect of the red-hours restriction is clear: It would take only 16 to 24 nighttime trips to wipe out the entire annual saving promised by the DriveTime policy. see PREMIUMS, Page 20D ‘Slow to adapt’ “It was popular, it worked for us, and it brought us more customers,” Nelson says. “We got fewer claims, and it benefited safety. But at the end of the day, people were slow to adapt to this new way of calculating motor insurance premiums.” Under the Pay As You Drive program, customers agreed to waive their privacy rights and have their driving monitored by tracking devices. Norwich Union picked up the cost of the devices, believed to be about £200 (nearly $400 at current exchange rates), while the driver paid a small installation charge. Norwich Union’s policy offered a financial incentive to people to drive less, stay clear of peak periods in congested cities and, in the case of drivers under 24, avoid driving at night. Costs ranged from 0.5 cents a mile for an older driver in the middle of the day to $2 a mile for a driver younger than 24 between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. The plan perhaps worked too well, Nelson hints. Some people were only paying $400 a year, “so it was taking us a long time to recoup our costs.” Time only In 2007, the online insurance company More Th>n, pronounced “more than,” launched a rival policy: DriveTime. It is a simpler product that disregards location and looks only at the time of the motorist’s journey. Parent company Royal Sun Alliance has no plans to discontinue it, says Keith Maxwell, head of core products at More Th>n. “We tend to focus on the younger end of the market, where premiums are very high. With this product, we were trying to find ways of reducing young drivers’ premiums.” Maxwell says accident experience shows that with young drivers there is a higher likelihood of claims during nighttime driving and that claims tend to be higher. Maxwell said that if More Th>n could deter drivers from taking the The things that make our candidates unique also make them uniquely qualified. That’s why at Aerotek, we take the time to really know the people we place. To find the person behind the resume. We already know they can do the job, but are they the right match for the position? We need to know. Because at Aerotek, we only send one perfect candidate to fill one perfect opportunity. People. Fit. Perfectly.® Career Placement Spe cialists SM Offices Nationwide. Design Release Engineers Aerotek is an equal opportunity employer. An Allegis Group Company. © 2008 866.376.8350 Quality Engineers www.aerotek.com/automotive Manufacturing Technicians Production Supervisors http://www.aerotek.com/automotive http://www.aerotek.com/automotive
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - July 21, 2008 Automotive News - July 21, 2008 Gray sky, not blue; store values wilt Sour Chery: Bricklin suit claims corruption Germans in U.S. eye VW work S.C. warranty insurer faces shutdown LaNeve: Make do with less marketing money Tesla CAFE: 244 mpg Lincoln's big crossover Schaeffler goes shopping: Can supplier land Continental? Dealers cut, shift their ad spending Truck for the times? Oklahoma pickup gets 37 mpg For Chrysler sensations, glory days are gone Kuzak: Redone Fords must have best fuel economy The Fisher brothers: Quite a body of work Kazamai concept: Mazda's design heard round the world 3 years later, Mitsubishi, UAW resume contract talks Big-pickup production will plunge Nason's NHTSA: More rules, fewer penalties A vote for the Volt Hyundai: Genesis gives brand a new beginning in luxury GM may survive; to thrive, it needs hot products GM just bought some time Green can be cool; it's up to the maker Why don't we drive diesels in the U.S.? Hooray! Joint effort stops airbag deaths All-Stars: Look beyond top brass Leno was right about U.S. cars Toyota recalls Siennas, disputes safety issue This time, the industry embraces connectivity Telematics connects with consumers Telematics gets no respect — the word, that is Tapping mapping for an extra eye on the road Drivers can check CO2 'tire print' Pay As You Drive insurance tracks cars to trim costs Subscribers, sponsors may fund telematics services Big-truck sales fall 14% in June Continental plant to make brakes Lear to shut Mo. seating plant Modine shifts production to Ky. Linamar buys Visteon plant Picture this Lexus revamps 'Taste' marketing extravaganzas Suzuki hires new auto ad agency Fisker turns to Finnish firm to make first hybrids American Suzuki gets new president Canada sales slip 5.6% in June Dealers A big fuel saver: Easy-rolling tires (but watch braking) MPG now! Automakers race to boost efficiency Products — not entire brands — likely to be ditched Pared ad budget is back on the chopping block GM goal: Big small-car profits Congress mulls arbitration bill 2009 Mazda6 price: $19,220 Copart files antitrust suit Denton's out, Leuliette's in as Dura CEO June output falls 13.8% Dodge Challenger: Not quite a sellout Magazine is raided in Renault espionage case Ya gotta believe: Dealers buy GM stock States of the auto industry Will the big guns pull the trigger? Lear a year later: Icahn's offer in hindsight Midcourse correction in Toyota's global sales outlook Chattanooga: A good site better Automotive News - July 21, 2008 Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - (Page Intro) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Gray sky, not blue; store values wilt (Page 1) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Gray sky, not blue; store values wilt (Page 2) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Lincoln's big crossover (Page 3) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Truck for the times? Oklahoma pickup gets 37 mpg (Page 4) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Truck for the times? Oklahoma pickup gets 37 mpg (Page 5) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - 3 years later, Mitsubishi, UAW resume contract talks (Page 6) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - 3 years later, Mitsubishi, UAW resume contract talks (Page 7) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - A vote for the Volt (Page 8) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - A vote for the Volt (Page 9) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Hyundai: Genesis gives brand a new beginning in luxury (Page 10) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Hyundai: Genesis gives brand a new beginning in luxury (Page 11) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Why don't we drive diesels in the U.S.? (Page 12) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Why don't we drive diesels in the U.S.? (Page 13) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Leno was right about U.S. cars (Page 14) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Leno was right about U.S. cars (Page 15) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Toyota recalls Siennas, disputes safety issue (Page 16) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Toyota recalls Siennas, disputes safety issue (Page GM1) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Toyota recalls Siennas, disputes safety issue (Page GM2) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Telematics connects with consumers (Page 17) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Telematics connects with consumers (Page 18) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Telematics gets no respect — the word, that is (Page 19) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Tapping mapping for an extra eye on the road (Page 20) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Pay As You Drive insurance tracks cars to trim costs (Page 20A) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Pay As You Drive insurance tracks cars to trim costs (Page 20B) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Pay As You Drive insurance tracks cars to trim costs (Page 20C) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Subscribers, sponsors may fund telematics services (Page 20D) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Subscribers, sponsors may fund telematics services (Page 21) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Linamar buys Visteon plant (Page 22) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Picture this (Page 23) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Fisker turns to Finnish firm to make first hybrids (Page 24) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Canada sales slip 5.6% in June (Page 25) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Canada sales slip 5.6% in June (Page 26) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Canada sales slip 5.6% in June (Page 27) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Canada sales slip 5.6% in June (Page 28) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Canada sales slip 5.6% in June (Page 29) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Canada sales slip 5.6% in June (Page 30) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Canada sales slip 5.6% in June (Page 31) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Dealers (Page 32) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - MPG now! Automakers race to boost efficiency (Page 33) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - GM goal: Big small-car profits (Page 34) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Denton's out, Leuliette's in as Dura CEO (Page 35) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Denton's out, Leuliette's in as Dura CEO (Page 36) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - June output falls 13.8% (Page 37) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Chattanooga: A good site better (Page 38) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Chattanooga: A good site better (Page 39) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Chattanooga: A good site better (Page 40)
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