General Motors will start selling car insurance again, this time using data its cars collect from customers’ driving habits to determine their rates.
Drivers who obey speed limits and show other good road behaviors will receive lower rates, the company said Wednesday.
The system will initially focus on acceleration, braking and general usage data but eventually could factor in how many times a customer used driver-assisted technology or even how well inflated their tires were.
Plans will be offered under GM’s OnStar connected-car service, a standard with all GM vehicles in the US, and will be optional for drivers.
A pilot program starts this week with GM employees in Arizona, with a nationwide rollout expected by the end of 2021.
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General Motors will start selling car insurance again, this time using data its cars gleans from customers’ driving habits to determine their rates
The company left the insurance business in 2009, when it declared bankruptcy and spun off GMAC financial services as Ally Financial.
GM says it envisions integrating its new insurance service with its other OnStar services, so agents can get accident information quickly and replacement parts can be ordered, saving time and money.
OnStar Insurance Services, which will also offer homeowner’s insurance, is being launched in partnership with American Family Insurance, which will underwrite policies.
The system will also build upon the Onstar Smart Driver system’s AI to provide proactive recommendations for safer driving, potentially improving customers’ rates even further.
It’s opt-in: GM car owners can still buy traditional insurance from Progressive, Geiko, and other carriers.
GM has launched a car insurance program using driver data to determine policy rates. OnStar Insurance Service is being tested in Arizona, with nationwide rollout expected in 2021
Traditional auto insurance companies base rates on broad categories like age, location, credit history, even gender.
But OnStar Insurance Services ‘takes biased judgement out of insurance shopping by focusing on factors within the customer’s control… and rewarding smart driving habits that benefit road safety,’ GM said in a statement.
Rates will initially be set like typical insurers, but as customers rack up a driving record on their GM vehicle, their rate will adjust.
Plans will be offered under GM’s OnStar connected-car service, which will track data on braking, acceleration and usage. Eventually it could factor in how well you keep your tires inflated
The system will initially focus on acceleration, braking and general usage data but eventually could factor in how many times a customer used driver-assisted technology or even how well inflated their tires were.
‘We’re not the only automaker out there with connected vehicles, but we have more data than the rest of the industry combined,’ said OnStar Insurance Services President Andrew Rose. ‘We aim to be an industry leader.’
According to the OnStar Insurance website, customers could receive a discount of up to 20 percent on their premium, based on their record.
Plans will be made available to cars not using OnStar, but not all discounts will be available to vehicles without it.
OnStar Insurance still has to be approved by various state insurance commissions, but GM expects to have it available nationwide by the end of next year
OnStar Insurance still has to be approved by various state insurance commissions, but GM expects to have it available nationwide by the end of next year.
‘Data is increasingly a focal point for insurers as it enables rate adjustment based on behavioral metrics such as driver phone use and propensity for heavy braking,’ data analyst Asad Hussain told Business Insider.
Last year, Tesla began offering data-driven insurance policies to customers in California.
Ford and Allstate have both agreed to allow car owners to get cheaper policies by sharing their driving data with outside insurance companies.
