Bajaj Allianz General Insurance launches industry-first telematics offering

Posted by sanjay on October 18th, 2016

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance today launched an industry-first Telematics service offering called Drive Smart.

With a host of services such as feedback on the driving habits, rewards for good driving behaviour, and several safety and utility features, the company is looking to redefine the way motor insurance premiums are calculated.

“The Telematics service – one in which a device that is fitted in your car gives you real-time feedback on your driving behaviour and helps align it with your motor premium – will lay the foundation for usage-based insurance offerings in the country,” the insurer said at the launch of the service in Mumbai today.

Commenting on the launch, Tapan Singhel, MD and CEO, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, said: “In the current motor insurance scenario, there is no distinction between a good and bad driver. The entire pricing mechanism is based on the vehicle’s make, model and year of manufacture. Over the years, those who drive safely have been compensating for the ones who do not drive appropriately. We have always believed in offering fair and transparent services that also allow us to empower our customers when it comes to their premium outgo based on their driving behaviour. “

The device, which comes free for the first three years, upon buying a fresh policy or renewing it offers safety features such as roadside assistance, over-speeding alerts, rash driving alerts along with real time location sharing. It connects to the car through the OBD 2 (on-board diagnostics) port and the customers could then start receiving real time alerts and feedback on their driving habits after downloading the company’s mobile app and insurance wallet, from the Google Play Store and IOS App Store.

Other safety features include geo-fence alerts for the defined geographical boundary, towing alerts, driving summary, and driving tips to improve driving behaviour. Additional features include basics such as engine and battery health indicator along with service schedules.

Bajaj Allianz pegs Drive Smart as not just a telematics offering, but as an entire ecosystem which offers safety, security and convenience to customers. The company surely has a first-mover advantage for now but whether it would be able to usher in usage-based insurance successfully for motor vehicles would solely depend on how accepting Indian car buyers are.