The global professional services company Towers Watson has forged a strategic alliance with Hughes (News - Alert) Telematics, Inc.

A subsidiary of Verizon Communications Inc., HTI provides location-based services for consumers, manufacturers, fleets and dealers through two-way wireless connectivity.

Under the alliance, the two companies will collaborate to deliver comprehensive data services for the personal line U.S. auto insurers, who will be using the data for the development of usage-based insurance (UBI) programs.

As part of the agreement, Towers Watson’s DriveAbility service offering will be powered by HTI’s industry-leading In-Drive solution. This location-based service has been designed to offer safety, security, convenience, maintenance and data services to customers.

Using the DriveAbility solution, insurers are able to convert driving data into industry-applicable metrics. This in turn helps insurers work out new usage-based insurance products and services for consumers.

HTI will utilize its automotive telematics platform to offer enhanced data services and provide the connectivity for additional telematics features.

The UBI programs use a self-installed device in the vehicle to collect valuable driving data and provide innovative, connected vehicle data services. Providing the drivers with valuable driving data, these devices help drivers improve on their driving habits, lowering their insurance rates based on their driving.

“An effective UBI program should offer valuable vehicle services, as well as the ability to reward dependable drivers,” said Robin Harbage of Towers Watson’s UBI consulting practice. “Working together, Towers Watson and Hughes Telematics bring extensive knowledge to help insurers determine how to best implement a UBI program.”

“We look forward to working with Towers Watson in expanding our In-Drive solution. This alliance will leverage HTI’s strength in automotive telematics and Towers Watson’s analytical expertise to deliver cost-effective UBI data services for the automobile insurance industry,” said Kevin Link, senior vice president at Hughes Telematics.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision on healthcare reform, most employers (88 percent) have affirmed their commitment to offer healthcare benefits to their active employees for the foreseeable future, according to a recent survey of 440 mid to large-sized companies by Towers Watson.

This strong commitment (up 17 percentage points from 2011) comes despite a projected 2013 per employee healthcare cost of $11,507 – an increase of 5.3 percent from 2012. It also comes amid uncertainty relating to the November elections, development of insurance exchanges and the rapidly evolving healthcare delivery system.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.