Are you ready for your insurance company to judge your driving?

Sunday, 6 December 2020

Driving to the conditions is about more than just obeying the speed limit, says Murph. (Video first published in May 2019)

Most Kiwis think they are great drivers yet the country’s road toll suggests many over-estimate their abilities - and that’s prompted one insurance company to launch a driving assessment app.

New research commissioned by Tower Insurance reveals that nine out of 10 people believe they drive better than the average New Zealander.

Further, less than one per cent (0.8 per cent) of Kiwis were willing to admit that their driving was below average, while 96 per cent believed that it was other people who needed to improve their driving habits and skills.

The research also showed men were more likely to rate their driving as above average (92 per cent) than women (86 per cent), and that Kiwis aged 21-30 and 61-70 rated their driving skills highly with 92 per cent in each group rating themselves above average.

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Tower managing director Michelle James said the results suggested Kiwis were overconfident in their driving skills, but the question of how good their driving really was remained.

In the US and Europe, tracking and assessing driving skills had become normalised in insurance, she said, so that prompted Tower to find out how receptive New Zealanders might be to a monitoring app.

Tower Insurance's new driving monitor app can earn its customers rewards and discounts.

James said its research showed 82 per cent would possibly or absolutely use an app to track their driving, while 85 per cent said they would use one if it led to better premiums and rewards.

That has prompted the insurer to launch GoCarma, a mobile application that monitors driving habits in areas like acceleration, braking, cornering and driver distraction (including phone use).

Every time users make a trip the app, which is available to people who aren’t customers of the company as well as those who are, scores their driving out of 100 and provides them with personalised feedback on their habits and where they can improve.

For Tower customers, the app can help reduce their insurance excess based on how safely they drive as certain scores will earn them discounts. Scores of 70 plus, 80 plus and 90 plus would earn $100, $200 and $300 off the excess respectively.

James said it was a great example of using mobile technology, data and insurance to reward people for driving safely.

“As someone who has been testing the app recently myself, I can say that it empowers me to try and become a better driver. This type of new technology will help us build new insurance offerings and rewards for customers in the future.

“But if it helps to make the road safer and to improve New Zealand’s road statistics that’s a win in itself.”

Asked whether she thought New Zealanders were ready to have their driving judged, James pointed to the popularity of things like Fitbits and Apple watches.

“They show that, increasingly, people like to measure their performance and improve in all aspects of their life. So we think Kiwis are ready for this type of app to monitor their driving and we also believe it is time to reward them for driving safely.”

Small business owner Damon Fee, who does a lot of driving as part of his job, agreed.

“I do think I’m a good driver, but we all have our faults and it’s useful to know where you might be able to improve. If an app to monitor my driving helped me drive more safely I’d definitely be up for it - especially if it helped out in the insurance space too.”