Farmers Insurance said it has started selling auto insurance in South Carolina exclusively through its Farmersdirect.com digital platform. Chubb expanded access of a tool that’s useful during catastrophic events. Octo Telematics is part of a technology pilot project designed to promote better driving behavior.

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Farmers Insurance said it has started selling auto insurance in South Carolina exclusively through its Farmersdirect.com digital platform.

The new policy options give drivers in South Carolina the ability to manage all aspects of their policies in a convenient, completely digital platform that allows customers to quickly secure auto coverage with policies they can tailor to fit their unique needs. After answering a few basic questions on Farmersdirect.com, customers are provided a quote in under a minute and are led through an easy-to-navigate self-serve dashboard where they can adjust core auto insurance features like coverages, vehicles, drivers and more.

Consumers may add a variety of endorsements, like rideshare coverage. Customers will also see all of their vehicle information with the swipe of a finger or click of a button. Any available discounts will also be automatically applied for eligible customers, prior to checkout. Customers will have convenient live-chat capabilities through the website and Farmers app to troubleshoot or have queries answered on the spot.

South Carolina marks the eighth state where Farmers has expanded access to branded products since 2011, with more than one million new policies in force as a result of its eastern expansion in states like Florida, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

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Chubb expanded access of its Incident Alert tool to its excess casualty clients during catastrophic events.

The tool, which has previously been used by Chubb environmental and cyber customers, now can assist excess casualty clients during a catastrophic event to help identify qualified response contractors, manage cleanup efforts and mitigate potential liabilities.

Chubb clients can now report an incident using their smartphone, tablet or computer and expedite incident reporting. Once an incident is reported, clients are assigned an incident response manager to help quickly align and deploy appropriate resources. Key features and benefits of Chubb Incident Alert include:

• 24/7 incident reporting.
• Geo-location technology to help align and deploy local resources including access to more than 3,500 response contractors and resources that customers can independently engage at their own expense, as needed.
• Customized email notification chain through which the customer, broker and Chubb adjuster can communicate in real time through a single email thread.
• Streamlined initiation of catastrophe management coverage where such coverage is included in the policy.
• Assistance with federal, state and local regulatory reporting, as needed.
• Real-time incident documentation reporting.
• Customized claims alerts.

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Octo Telematics is part of a technology pilot project with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia designed to promote better driving behavior.

Specifically, Octo is exclusively providing telematics for the one-year Techpilot project for newly licensed drivers. The goal of the project, which launched in January, is to validate that telematics can modify driving behavior for the better.

Participants in the Techpilot will use a combination of their smartphone and Octo-provisioned Smart Tag to detect and score driving behaviors such as speeding, braking and cellphone use. Half of the pilot’s participants will fully interact with Octo’s Digital Driver including receiving their score, feedback and safe-driving rewards in the form of gift cards to popular retailers and restaurants. The remaining participants will be limited to receiving rewards solely based on their participation in the Techpilot. The pilot results will inform ICBC’s telematics strategy and plan.

Sources: Farmers, Chubb, Octo Telematics