A fancy car that is insured from all sorts of damage would be any car lover’s dream. And the increasing number of cars on roads has only led to the increased availability of insurance policies.
But a new trend that has already become popular globally and is slowly finding its way into the Indian markets is the mix of telematics and insurance. A hardware device installed in your car can detect how you drive. These behavioural patterns are studied by insurance agencies to review the claims filed by their clients.
How It Works
With the use of telecommunications and informatics, a device installed in your car picks up the pattern of your driving, which further helps insurance companies in usage-based insurance.
CarIQ, a connected car platform, was the first in India to establish a partnership with Bajaj Allianz to give them the data on driving patterns of drivers.
They rolled out the project with the policy holders of Bajaj Allianz, focusing mostly on individual car owners. “We help insurance companies provide usage-based insurance on the basis of how a person drives. The premium is decided accordingly. The first step is to get the right data. The second step is to refine the data for the insurance companies by procuring information from the backend. We then help them define products,” said Sagar Apte, founder and CEO of CarIQ that was set up four years ago.
They have partnered with insurance companies in Singapore, Dubai, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
How Insurance and Connected Car Platforms Match — Swipe Right, Gone Right
Talking about how the match between insurance companies and connected car platforms is a great one, Urmil Shah, Co-founder, Carnot, said, "Most car owners don't end up seeking a claim over the course of the year. We're helping insurance companies extend their relationship with customers and play a more meaningful role. In the longer run, we want to help insurance companies drive customer engagement and loyalty."
Carnot helps insurance companies understand their customers better. "We help insurance companies understand how much their customers drive, where they drive and how they drive. This will help insurance companies understand their customers better and tailor make their insurance products", said Shah.
Indians are Not Okay Giving Up Their Privacy
Using telematics to gage a driver’s skills have been popularly used by companies abroad, especially in the US and UK but in India it’s yet to see the popularity it deserves.
“The Indian market is different. People here are not comfortable giving up their privacy even for cheaper insurance policies. Also, the cost of running these machines is higher and companies want to transfer the cost to the consumer. As we manufacture in India, we are able to offer a lower rate,” said Pranshu Gupta, Founder of Trak N Tell.
The company is currently in talks with a few insurance companies and even car and motorcycle manufacturers to launch their product with them.
On the change in perception, Gupta said, “Abroad, the premium is based on the cost of the car, age of the driver and also number of miles covered by him/her every day. The second part of this equation doesn’t apply in India. These technologies might create false alerts here, for example when a car gets into a pothole.”
But Shah from Carnot has a remedy, "We've developed technology that is trained to know the difference between a pot hole and an accident.", he said.
Betting Big on This
While CarIQ has been offering this policy for a year, Apte said they still have a long way to go. “The response has been very positive so far and what’s interesting is that more than Tier I cities, people from Tier II cities are using the product. The cost of technology is coming down. In fact, manufacturing costs have come down for us by 66 per cent, thanks to the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. Also, Europe and the US have already clearly shown a ROI for the programme,” added Apte.
Meanwhile, Shah talked about how the sector is racing ahead. “We are working with a leading insurance company in India and a global car aggregator to give their users access to our platform. We also help in micro-fleet management through which owners can easily keep a track on where the car is or who is driving it and how,” added Shah.
A fancy car that is insured from all sorts of damage would be any car lover’s dream. And the increasing number of cars on roads has only led to the increased availability of insurance policies.
But a new trend that has already become popular globally and is slowly finding its way into the Indian markets is the mix of telematics and insurance. A hardware device installed in your car can detect how you drive. These behavioural patterns are studied by insurance agencies to review the claims filed by their clients.
How It Works
With the use of telecommunications and informatics, a device installed in your car picks up the pattern of your driving, which further helps insurance companies in usage-based insurance.
CarIQ, a connected car platform, was the first in India to establish a partnership with Bajaj Allianz to give them the data on driving patterns of drivers.
They rolled out the project with the policy holders of Bajaj Allianz, focusing mostly on individual car owners. “We help insurance companies provide usage-based insurance on the basis of how a person drives. The premium is decided accordingly. The first step is to get the right data. The second step is to refine the data for the insurance companies by procuring information from the backend. We then help them define products,” said Sagar Apte, founder and CEO of CarIQ that was set up four years ago.
They have partnered with insurance companies in Singapore, Dubai, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
How Insurance and Connected Car Platforms Match — Swipe Right, Gone Right
Talking about how the match between insurance companies and connected car platforms is a great one, Urmil Shah, Co-founder, Carnot, said, "Most car owners don't end up seeking a claim over the course of the year. We're helping insurance companies extend their relationship with customers and play a more meaningful role. In the longer run, we want to help insurance companies drive customer engagement and loyalty."
Carnot helps insurance companies understand their customers better. "We help insurance companies understand how much their customers drive, where they drive and how they drive. This will help insurance companies understand their customers better and tailor make their insurance products", said Shah.
Indians are Not Okay Giving Up Their Privacy
Using telematics to gage a driver’s skills have been popularly used by companies abroad, especially in the US and UK but in India it’s yet to see the popularity it deserves.
“The Indian market is different. People here are not comfortable giving up their privacy even for cheaper insurance policies. Also, the cost of running these machines is higher and companies want to transfer the cost to the consumer. As we manufacture in India, we are able to offer a lower rate,” said Pranshu Gupta, Founder of Trak N Tell.
The company is currently in talks with a few insurance companies and even car and motorcycle manufacturers to launch their product with them.
On the change in perception, Gupta said, “Abroad, the premium is based on the cost of the car, age of the driver and also number of miles covered by him/her every day. The second part of this equation doesn’t apply in India. These technologies might create false alerts here, for example when a car gets into a pothole.”
But Shah from Carnot has a remedy, "We've developed technology that is trained to know the difference between a pot hole and an accident.", he said.
Betting Big on This
While CarIQ has been offering this policy for a year, Apte said they still have a long way to go. “The response has been very positive so far and what’s interesting is that more than Tier I cities, people from Tier II cities are using the product. The cost of technology is coming down. In fact, manufacturing costs have come down for us by 66 per cent, thanks to the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. Also, Europe and the US have already clearly shown a ROI for the programme,” added Apte.
Meanwhile, Shah talked about how the sector is racing ahead. “We are working with a leading insurance company in India and a global car aggregator to give their users access to our platform. We also help in micro-fleet management through which owners can easily keep a track on where the car is or who is driving it and how,” added Shah.
Fintech in India has seen a sudden boost and almost every new start-up, these days, comes with the assurance of smooth handling of finances.
While Fintech takes all the cheers, silently brewing in the corner is it’s cousin InsurTech. But soon it will be ready to take over, say experts.
InsurTech, which refers to technological advancement in the insurance sector, has been touted as the next big opportunity. A PwC report even suggests that three in four insurers have predicted disruption in their sector within the next four years. However, the process has already begun.
InsurTech So Far
The insurance industry has not seen too many technological advancements but the servicing part of the sector has been evolving drastically. “Insurance sector has seen a slight lag when it comes to adapting to technology. But now, InsurTech is being used to give customers a seamless experience, empowering them to have an access to insurance. With mushrooming of various portals, customers can check policy details for themselves and claim for it online,” said KG Krishnamoorthy Rao, MD & CEO of Future Generali Insurance.
Insurance Requires Concept Selling
Rahul Mohata, COO, 121policy.com, said the insurance industry in itself was still in a nascent stage in the country. “Insurance sector is yet to evolve in the country, currently less than 4 per cent of the population are covered. Even the largest insurance company in India won’t have more than 2,000 branches all over India. The challenge lies in the fact that insurance requires the selling of the concept,” he stressed.
Cheap Internet Will Help Gain Customers
Customers of Insurance are mainly restricted to the Tier I or Tier II cities, where they will soon reach a saturation point if they haven’t yet, Mohata pointed out. “The real penetration will happen when we reach out to the Tier III and Tier IV cities. This is possible now because of the availability of data at a cheap rate and smartphones. Those who have access to these two, will have access to a lot of products and you don’t need infrastructure to increase penetration. They will be able to see and compare policies, check reviews and then decide what they want to buy,” Mohata added.
Product Check
There are many interesting concepts coming up in insurance. “Abroad, the connected car concept is becoming popular. Through this concept, the insurer can observe the driver behaviour and charge premium accordingly,” said Rao and added, “Even we have developed an app that reduces the turnaround time substantially for the buying and selling of insurance.”
Mohata, on the other hand, is making inroads into health insurance. “Our platform can help people, even in remote areas, get access to health insurance and also help them make an informed decision. It specializes in family health insurance, maternity cover, senior citizen health coverage, diabetic cover, corporate health insurance, overseas health insurance and health quotes,” he said.
With most companies offering their services online, one would think it would affect jobs. “Not in the insurance sector. You can still have all the services online but the convincing part will need to be done with human intervention,” said Mohata.
0 Comments