Hartford President Announces Telematics-Based Automobile Insurance Policy Roll Out In 2012

By Calvin Azuri
TMCnet Contributor

On Dec. 8, during an investors meet, Andy Napoli, President of Hartford's consumer markets, announced that Hartford Financial Services Group, a Fortune 500 company and one of America’s largest investment and insurance companies, will be introducing a telematics-based automobile insurance policy next year. Titled as "TrueLane," the new telematics program from Hartford will be rolled out in the first half of 2012 said Napoli.

In a release, Andy Napoli, president of Hartford's consumer markets, said, “The Company is investing in telematics, and the use of devices in insured vehicles to transmit information about driving behavior, such as miles driven, speed, acceleration, deceleration, and using that information to price the risk. The data is compelling. We feel strongly that carriers that do not adopt telematics will subject themselves to adverse selection, as this capability has really redefined the way we think about pricing auto."

According to Towers Watson research, insurers with a combined market share of 60 percent within the personal auto market have already gone ahead with the implementation of different versions of usage-based insurance (UBI) in one state while others are in various stages of running or developing similar pilot programs. The Towers Watson research also found that UBI programs have seen successful implementations across all states except in Hawaii, while 18 other states which include California, Texas, and the states of Illinois and Ohio, have in place four personal auto UBI programs. 

The Snapshot program form Progressive, an auto insurer, which is currently available across 40 states including the states of Texas, New York, and Florida, displays the largest geographical presence. Manufactured by Xirgo Technologies Inc., Snapshot is a telematics device which has been designed to enable savings of up to 30 percent for driver on their car insurance. The mileage discount program from GMAC which is provided to OnStar subscribers in 35 states can deliver close to 54 percent savings for users who drive less than 15,000 miles annually.