Telematics considered by 55% of consumers
Saving money is still the biggest factor in people taking out telematics and data-based insurance motor policies, according to new research from Consumer Intelligence. Although for over half (55%) the saving would have to be over a £100 for them to consider it.
The findings also noted that over half the people questioned (53%) thought policyholders should own their driving data, followed by insurers (40%), DVLA (17%) and an independent third party (7%). Only 2% said motor manufacturers.
When given five options to determine what would make someone more likely to take out a policy that used data on your driving, ‘reduced renewal premium’ came top with almost a quarter (24%) rating it very likely. On a sliding scale of 1/10 – very unlikely to 10/10 – very likely, 51% rated this answer 8/10 and above.
The second most popular answer was ‘refund premium if mileage was less than estimated’ with 20% saying this would make it very likely they took out a policy and 46% scoring it 8/10 and above. ‘Vouchers/financial rewards’ and ‘refunds for night driving’ scored 40% (8/10 and above) and 39% (8/10 and above).
The least likely factor to make drivers take out a data-based policy was a refund for ‘storing a car in a garage’ with only a quarter (25%) rating that answer 8/10 or higher.
When asked the most important factors that would make someone consider a telematics-based policy, ‘saving money based on their driving’ came top again with 69%. Although for those aged 18-24 the response dropped to 53% and for those 55-64 (76%) and 65 and above (78%) it increased.
For those aged 18-24 the most popular answer was ‘tell if their car had been stolen’ (69%), which rated 56% across the entire population of the survey.
The youngest group was also the demographic who most wanted telematics to ‘call the emergency services in the event of a collision’ (51% versus 40% overall).
As to how much drivers would have to save to take out a policy that enabled them to share their data with their insurer, 35% said £120 and above; 20% £100 – £119 and 19% £80 – £99. For the 18-24 group, 55% said £120 and above, whilst for those aged 65 and above, 43% would consider a saving of up to £79 as enough of an incentive to do this.
Finally when asked how they saw the uptake of telematics, 49% said it would become better known but stay a niche product. Only 4% thought autonomous cars would make it irrelevant; whilst 21% reckoned most drivers would have it in the next 3-5 years.
