6 ways auto insurers are addressing distracted driving

August 2, 2022 9:13 AM

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Dangerous driving is at an all-time high since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with upward trends in speeding, dangerous driving at night and a large increase in distracted driving. Potential solutions are on the way, however, with legislation supporting hands-free technology and insurers adopting telematics programs to continuously monitor drivers.

Read more about how insurers are addressing increased distracted driving in our roundup.

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Distracted driving at an all-time high: How insurers can respond

Insurers have released new data revealing that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in unsafe, distracted driving.

“People were working from home and there was a real sense that roads were empty and people tend to drive faster and take more risks [when there is less traffic,” said Chris Hayes, assistant vice president of transportation and risk control at Travelers.] “It changed the way that people drove.”

Nearly 20% of respondents in a recent Travelers Risk Index survey reported texting or emailing while driving pre-pandemic. Now this dangerous practice is up to 23%. Other data changes include checking social media, which increased two percentage points to 15%, as well as taking videos and pictures, which has climbed to 12% from its pre-pandemic levels of 10%.

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Distracted driving at an all-time high: How insurers can respond

Nationwide advocates for hands-free legislation

Nationwide is urging for hands-free legislation in every U.S. In a recent survey conducted by the firm, 86% of drivers say they too support legislation in their states that prohibit holding a phone while driving to talk, text or for other purposes outside of emergencies.

“We know hands-free primary enforcement legislation works,” said Nationwide CEO Kirt Walker. “A 2018 analysis showed that states that enact this type of legislation experienced a 15% decrease in auto crash-related fatalities two years after the enactment of this type of law. Six states in that same analysis saw a decrease of more than 20% in fatality rates.”

For a potential solution, Nationwide joined insurtechs, Cambridge Mobile Telematics and NoCell to make technology available to drivers that could correct distracted behaviors.

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Nationwide advocates for hands-free legislation

Pedestrian crash avoidance tech works but not in the dark, IIHS

Crash rates were 27% lower for vehicles that had pedestrian automatic emergency braking systems, according to a study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. With information included about lighting, speed limit and the layout of a crash, it’s clear that pedestrian AEB does reduce the odds of a crash in daylight and in areas with artificial lighting.

“The daylight test has helped drive the adoption of this technology,” said David Aylor, manager of active safety testing at IIHS, in a statement. “But the goal of our ratings is always to address as many real-world injuries and fatalities as possible — and that means we need to test these systems at night.”

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Pedestrian crash avoidance tech works but not in the dark, IIHS

7 trends to consider during Distracted Driving Awareness Month

Distracted driving behaviors have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from Cambridge. Research from the firm also reveals that the right type of insurance telematics programs can reduce dangerous driving behaviors. By adding these programs to their apps, carriers have more opportunities to urge safe driving.

Other dangerous driving trends in the report include a surge in speeding and more dangerous driving at night.

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7 trends to consider during Distracted Driving Awareness Month

Nationwide teams up with CMT on driving notifications

In an effort to improve driver retention and roadway safety, Nationwide is working with Cambridge Mobile Telematics, to add the DriveWell Messaging platform to its telematics products lineup.

“CMT offers dependable and accurate solutions that aligned with our needs at the time that they were selected as our app service provider,” said Kelly Hernandez, assistant vice president of personal lines, telematics at Nationwide. “In any app-based telematics solution, it is critical that each user is aware of the settings that are required to enable trip collection.”

Drivers are 65% safer on the road and 57% less distracted if they are highly engaged while driving, according to CMT research. Additionally, engaged drivers are 160% more likely to be retained, if the driver is highly engaged within the first 30 days of the program.

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Nationwide teams up with CMT on driving notifications

Why UBI is trending toward continuous monitoring

While behavior based insurance policies can earn a customer a good driving discount at the beginning of their plan, continuous monitoring can reduce overall risk and reduce customer rates.

Insurers are now investing in telematics programs to continuously reduce risk and grow profitability. Seven of the top 10 insurers have developed a continuous monitoring strategy.

USAA’s continuous monitoring program through SafePilot revealed that “daily driver enrollment year-to-date is 203% higher than in 2020... [with] almost half of new policyholders opting into the program.”

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