Connected Car Platforms, A Field Trial: Are They Ready for Usage-Based Insurance?

Abstract

Following a regulatory change in Europe which mandates that car manufacturers include an “eCall” system in new vehicles, many car manufacturers are adding additional services on top, so that more and more cars become connected vehicles and act like IoT sensors. In the following study, we analyse the maturity level of this new technology to build insurance products that would take vehicle usage into account. For this, the connectivity of recent cars a-priori eligible has been first tested. Then, an ad-hoc platform has been designed to collect driving data. In particular, 4 cars have been connected to this platform for periods of over one month. Our results highlight that, while this technological innovation appears very promising in the future, the pricing, the lack of uniformity of data collected and the enrollment process are currently three pain points that should be addressed to offer large-scale opportunities. In the meantime, this technology might still be used for high value use cases such as the insurance of luxurious cars.