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Win-Win: Commercial Fleet Underwiting with Telematics

We blogged recently on competitive uses of predictive analytics,and noted that ‘Telematics,’ the use of location technology to automatically track automobile usage, was gaining some favour for some auto underwriting.  There is now evidence that this will extend beyond obvious uses in personal lines to more sophisticated applications in commercial  fleet insurance.

The neat spin on this is that it is marketed primarily as a service to help the fleet manager better understand the operations of vehicles in the fleet.  According to Paul Horgan, chief underwriting officer for Zurich Global Corporate in North America, in a statement provided to Insurance & Technology:  “Zurich Fleet Intelligence is unique because it allows fleet managers to understand the behaviors of their drivers, while also giving them access to a Zurich risk engineering specialist who can work with them to help improve their drivers’ performance, in turn helping them reduce their fleets’ operating costs and run a safer fleet.”

Moreover, the data can be used by Zurich and the commercial risk manager to better understand risks, and implement loss control strategies.  And, at the same time, the data are available to Zurich to more precisely underwrite the risk.

It is a win for everyone, Horgan concludes.  “By utilizing Zurich Fleet Intelligence, we’ll recognize our customers’ commitment to improving the risk profile of their fleet and view them as a better risk today than they were yesterday,” Horgan explains. “We then respond by setting a price that will help achieve the right balance between covering the costs of the risks and having the ability to deliver when it matters.”