Real-Time UBI Calculation: A Non-Negotiable

No matter how you slice it, usage-based insurance brings plenty of good things — from helping to make the roads a safer place, to reducing fraud and strengthening customer loyalty. That said, not all usage based insurance technology is created equal. Programs that calculate driver scores in real time stand above the rest for the two key reasons discussed below.

1.  Immediate feedback makes a difference.

It’s one thing to base your customers’ rates on their behavior. It’s quite another to communicate with your customers frequently enough to help them actually improve their driving … offering feedback that’s useful to them in the moment, not just at the end of the billing cycle.

In fact, we’d go so far as to say that when you’re setting up your usage based insurance program, you should make real-time feedback a non-negotiable. And, to provide instant coaching, you need usage based insurance technology that calculates scores on drivers’ smartphones in real time.

Why is real-time feedback important? The simple answer is, it works. On a human level, when feedback comes after a long delay, it’s much harder to respond to it. But when feedback is immediate? It’s easier to connect input to behavior. A teachable moment is just that: a moment.

In fact, the question of when and how to offer feedback has been well-researched in classroom settings. “Numerous studies indicate that feedback is most effective when it is given immediately, rather than a few days, weeks, or months down the line,” said Edutopia, for example – a fact that’s no less true in the classroom than it is behind the wheel.

A case study by The Hartford offers further evidence of the benefits of immediate feedback. By providing in-vehicle telematics that give drivers immediate feedback on risky maneuvers, a regional beverage distributor was able to reduce risky driving behavior by 75 percent in a one-year timeframe. This led to a fuel savings of almost $300 per vehicle annually, and accidents were reduced by 31 percent, with a 74 percent reduction in accident-related costs! Can you imagine the impact on your bottom line if your book of business experiences similar results?

2.  Real-time calculations also lighten the burden of data processing and storage.

There’s another reason to prioritize real-time calculations, and that’s the data. By calculating driving events in real time, you minimize the amount of data that your UBI app is required to log, store and upload.

UBI apps that don’t offer real-time calculations have to hold onto large chunks of data until the end of the trip, when they can upload everything to the cloud. That upload can amount to 20 megabytes or more, depending on how long the drive has been. It places a heavy load on local temporary storage; it also reduces the battery life on your customers’ phones.

In contrast, apps that calculate and analyze vast majority of events and scores in real time upload kilobytes, not megabytes.

The bottom line:

Apps with real-time driving data calculation offer a leaner, more efficient way to process data — while also delivering a sleeker customer experience. Real-time feedback is also a more effective way to help your customers become safer on the road, improving the driving quality throughout your book of business.

Where can you find a UBI app that calculates driving data in real time on the smartphone? At Driveway Software of course. Download our Fact Sheet to learn more.