Unfortunately, due to their higher risk profile, young drivers are one of the hardest to insure, but thanks to telematics, they’re being given an opportunity that seemed likely to be denied them thanks to rising insurance prices just a few years ago: actually get behind the wheel of their own car. However, even when they know they’re being tracked, these are very new, inexperienced drivers we’re talking about; they have a lot to work on. That’s why the Co-op, has now announced that it’s going to start offering online training courses for those that have passed their tests, to help improve their driving and potentially even lower their insurance premium.
For young drivers with a telematics tracking package, they’ll be able to log in to their online profile and view their data. This will tell them how often they’ve broken the speed limit, or how much of their driving features sharp acceleration and braking. Whatever it is though, chances are there’s room for improvement, as nobody is truly good at driving until they’ve been doing it for a while, but even then, chances are they will have picked up some bad habits.
It’s certainly a bit more modern than some people’s approaches…
To make this data go further and to ensure that drivers learn from it, the Co-op is now looking to offer training courses based on that data. They will be focused on key areas of driving, specifically: speed, cornering, braking and acceleration.
While the Co-operative insurance arm hasn’t been entirely clear on what those modules will feature, chances are it will involve training videos, voice over tutorials and graphics to explain how to avoid certain habits that can impact a telematics premium.
The modules have been made in conjunction with safety organisation e-merge, which has been pioneering new techniques to improve young driver safety on the road, by targeting behaviour.
Jeremy Williamson, CEO and Partner at e-merge safer drivers said of the scheme: “As a business that is focused on doing the right thing to improve young driver safety The Co-operative Insurance was a natural choice for us when looking for a partner to deliver these modules. This is just the first stage and we’re looking forward to developing the technology further based on customer feedback, telematics data and in conjunction with The Co-operative Young Member’s Board.”
The schemed has been praised by industry bodies, as well as some charities, like Brake: “[We] fully supports the use of telematics as an incredibly useful tool for measuring performance and helping to create safer drivers,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “The next step for telematics is training which creates behavioural change, and we are delighted to support the innovative system developed by The Co-operative and e-merge safer drivers.”
Image source: Flood G
[Thanks ComputerWorld]
