Market leader sees 25% increase in 12 months as popularity of telematics insurance policies soars
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 25, 2017 – London – Octo Telematics (Octo), the number one global provider of telematics for the auto insurance industry, with 39% of the market in terms of active usage-based insurance (UBI) policies, said today that five million cars are now connected to Octo telematics platform across the globe, a 25% increase since 2016.
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.
“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, “said Fabio Sbianchi, CEO, Octo Telematics. “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$120 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.
“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,” said Andrew Lee, Head of Market Intelligence and Analysis, Octo Telematics. “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.”
Pictures of this event and the data are available on request.
About Octo Telematics
Octo is the number 1 global provider of telematics and data analytics solutions for the auto insurance industry. Founded in 2002, Octo is one of the pioneers of the insurance telematics industry. Today, Octo is the largest and most experienced insurance telematics company in the world, transforming auto insurance through behavioral, contextual and driving analytics for more than 60 insurance partners.
Octo has 5 million connected users (as of May 2017) and the largest global database of telematics data, with over 155 billion miles of driving data collected and 397,000 crashes and insurance events analyzed (as of March 2017).
Octo applies proprietary algorithms to this market-leading database to deliver powerful new insights into driver risk, informing solutions that benefit both auto insurance companies and policyholders.
The company is headquartered in London, with offices in Boston, Rome, Stuttgart, Madrid, and Sao Paulo.
For more information, please visit: http://www.octotelematics.com/