Publisher and information services company Reed Elsevier, has announced that it’s legal research division, LexisNexis has purchased British telematics firm Wunelli, in order to bolster its own stake in the industry. It will allow for the firm to acquire a lot more details on drivers, which will in turn help LexisNexis offer advice and insight to the insurance industry – which is its main business.
“Wunelli brings telematics expertise, solutions, scores and unique data assets, experience with hundreds of millions of miles of telematics data that can help advance our existing telematics offering and provide our customers with greater ROI, and faster speed to market,” said Bill Madison, CEO, Insurance, LexisNexis. “With usage-based insurance projected to grow to approximately 15-30% of the global auto insurance market in the coming years, our customers have communicated an increased need for a variety of telematics solutions to help them attract safer drivers, improve retention and avoid adverse selection.”
He went on to say that with LexisNexis’ already collected statistics and Wunelli’s in depth stats database, it will hold one of those most detailed breakdown of British drivers in existence. While it may still be some time before all drivers are operating telematics devices in their own vehicles, the collection of data held by LexisNexis will allow it to offer much better insight to insurers. Some of those companies include Axa, Admiral and RSA, though that list of customers could grow exponentially in the wake of the deal.
Wunelli Director, Sandy Dunn, said: “LexisNexis and Wunelli share a complementary vision to provide the most comprehensive risk assessment solutions available to the insurance industry, and we look forward to combining our offerings. LexisNexis data and analytics expertise, fast linking technology and HPCC Systems® platform will help our customers execute on their global telematics strategies, while offering them an unparalleled level of insurance telematics service and support.”
Reed Elsevier is a monster corporation, with revenue over £6 billion a year
As we already know, the rate of telematics update is expected to increase over the next few years, with over 20 per cent of those quizzed saying they would consider it before their new premium renewal. This makes the purchase of a telematics company even more attractive and worthwhile for LexisNexis and its parent company.
This isn’t the first merger of telematics firms that we’ve seen in recent months, though it is the biggest. If firms aren’t buying telematics companies at the moment, they’re becoming official partners like RAC and Quindell. If you own a telematics company, expect to get a knock on the door soon, someone is going to want to invest, or buy you out, mark my words
