USAA on Tuesday said hello saw a 200 percent increase in using its telematics car insurance option SafePilot last year — and it’s experiencing a 50 % opt-in rate among new clients.
The option has been available in Arizona, Ohio, Texas and Virginia. “To be able to accommodate growing demand, USAA is launching a hostile SafePilot roll-out in the most of states throughout 2021,” USAA wrote inside a news release.
USAA sweetened the offer for potential SafePilot adopters and current consumers on Thursday, increasing the potential discount from 20 percent to 30 % for good drivers in Arizona, Ohio and Texas. Additionally, it increased the incentive to sign up for the program in those three states, elevating a 5 percent up-front discount to some 10 % rate cut for new adopters.
USAA said it had a lot more than 106,000 SafePilot policies available on the market by December 2021. On Dec. 18, 2021, the SafePilot drivers broke the 100,000-trips-in-a-day mark with the technology active, collectively producing 1.1 million miles worth of data on that day. Throughout its entire history, the telematics program has witnessed a lot more than 300 million miles driven with the software engaged, based on USAA.
Telematics programs can concentrate on two separate variables or incorporate each of them. One metric is driving behavior: Would you appear to be a higher crash risk based on how you drive? Another is simply distance travelled: Are you through the laws of probability increasing or decreasing your chance of crashing when you are on the highway pretty much?
USAA’s program looks at driving behavior. It uses an app to handle the telematics duties . According to a FAQ, the app examines variables including location, time of day, whether you’re actually the driver, phone usage, and harsh braking. Good drivers can earn up to and including 30 % discount, while bad drivers might earn no discount whatsoever but won’t be penalized with premiums higher than what they’d have been charged without telematics, according to USAA.
“It is not accustomed to evaluate insurability or increase premiums, although discounts may vary within the lifetime of the insurance policy,” spokeswoman Lara Hendrickson wrote in an email Thursday.
USAA described the program noticing 2021 driving behavior reflecting less congested roads during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speeding rose 27 percent, and phone handling climbed 8 percent. However, harsh braking fell Five percent.
“Some very dangerous driving behaviors increased in 2021 because of more open roadways, but we feel programs like SafePilot will continue to encourage smarter decisioning behind the wheel,” USAA auto insurance Senior Vice President Randy Termeer said in a statement. “Our members' safety factors are always our first of all priority.”
We asked what USAA had learned from SafePilot that prompted the higher discount ceiling.
“Programs like SafePilot encourage and incentivize drivers to examine their behaviors, creating safer roadways,” Hendrickson wrote. “Within the data we view so far, members enrolled in SafePilot are practicing safer driving.”
Telematics insurance programs matter to the collision repair industry on multiple fronts. We've got the technology has been shown to produce better drivers — good for society, but harmful to a collision industry dependent on crash volume.
“SafePilot promotes safe driving behaviors, and as a benefit of safe driving, our members who make use of the program are seeing significant policy discounts,” Termeer said inside a statement.
A telematics program also provides some insurance company using the means to detect collisions, offer emergency help consumers who require it — and theoretically initiate and begin managing the claim process immediately. We asked if SafePilot had any sort of crash detection and electronic first notice of loss program.
“Last year, USAA launched Telematics Enabled Auto Claims , utilizing SafePilot telematics data to streamline and expedite the claims process, allowing for a far more seamless member experience and ultimately, faster resolution of claims,” Hendrickson wrote. “When the member calls directly into report the collision, with permission in the member, the adjuster accesses visualized mobile telematics data to validate the member's loss report. In phase two, the crash prediction will be detected through the SafePilot app and received by USAA. TEAC was built in order to reduce manual data entry and expedite the claims process, leading to automated digital first notice of loss in the long run.”
