15/08/2012

By Scott Thompson

Aviva is inviting UK motorists to help develop a new driver behavioural Android app.
It says that safer drivers stand to earn a discount of up to 20 per cent on their car insurance.

The RateMyDrive app will monitor motorists taking part in a test over 200 miles, including acceleration, braking and cornering. The data is then turned into an individual "score" which helps determine the motorist’s premium. Steve Treloar, Aviva’s retail director, says: “Unlike traditional ‘black box’ telematics solutions, the RateMyDrive app only needs a small amount of data – typically 200 miles – to create an individual driver profile. And because the app is free to download and uses the customer’s own smartphone, there is no need for motorists to have a black box installed in their car."

“For those who complete the RateMyDrive app trial, we will provide feedback on their driving and a quote - including any discount earned from safer driving - should they wish to take out Aviva insurance," he adds. “And while safer drivers could receive a discount up to 20 per cent, we won’t penalise other drivers if their driving doesn’t come up to the standard set by the app. They’ll just receive the standard premium but won’t get a discount.”

The app has been trialled by Aviva staff over a number of months and now the insurer is calling on drivers to get involved. Treloar comments: “We need a wide range of motorists to test the proposition and help us develop the final product and customer experience before we bring it fully to market. We will ask those helping us to shape this new proposition to tell us what they think of the app and what improvements could be made to benefit the customer. We believe that by using smartphone technology in this innovative way, Aviva will be able to tailor premiums further to individual drivers - basically the premium will be for you, not people like you.”