Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, Inc. and Driveway Software have joined forces to offer the auto insurance industry a coordinated usage based insurance (UBI) solution using a smartphone app that includes driver behavior scoring.

According to a media statement, the Driveway app is the first in the industry to feature automatic trip detection without any user or hardware dependency, or adverse impact on smartphone battery life and performance. More than 200,000 drivers have already downloaded and used the app, giving Driveway and Pinnacle the opportunity to collect and analyze more than 500 million miles of driving data.

The statement also notes that Pinnacle services are offered “á la carte,” which means insurers can select technology, consulting, scoring individually or a coordinated package.

Using predictive analytics, Pinnacle already assists companies with building driver scores based on UBI data, incorporating driver scores into rating plans, and analyzing customer perceptions of UBI. Pinnacle also works with insurance companies to provide pricing, underwriting, claims and marketing needs related to UBI.

Principal and Consulting Actuary, Roosevelt C. Mosely, Jr. said: “Applying Pinnacle’s analytics capabilities to Driveway’s half a billion miles of driving data provides insurer’s with a credible basis to incorporate driver scores into their rating plans. The scoring is easily customizable, allowing companies to focus only on the behavior elements of interest to them.”

The Driveway solution continuously tracks driver behavior (such as time of day, garaging location, braking, cornering, speeding and mileage) using a smartphone app. Data is transmitted from the app to a secure cloud where a proprietary analytical platform processes the data of each individual risk component to derive a scored result for each risk element, as well as an overall safety score for each trip captured.

Driveway Software’s smartphone app + cloud-based platform eliminates burdensome costs and inefficiencies of onboard diagnostic device (OBD)-based programs, which Driveway believes have plagued early adopters in the UBI arena.

“Insurers know they need to break into UBI but some are unsure about the best way to approach filings, rating and product management. Now, with our technology and Pinnacle’s guidance, insurers can control their exposures and launch a UBI program that will deliver a more accurate price to the consumer with a better loss result for the carrier,” Driveway CTO Igor Katsman stated.

About Pinnacle Actuarial Resources

Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, Inc. is an independent, full-service actuarial firm focused on the property/ casualty insurance industry headquartered in Bloomington, Ill.

About Driveway Software

Driveway Software, Inc. helps insurers realize the promise and potential of UBI programs with an end-to-end platform that requires no hardware and can be customized, white-labeled and rolled out within 90 days.

Source: Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, Driveway Software