Axa Insurance in Ireland is offering young male drivers a discount on their car insurance if they agree to have a satellite tracking system fitted to their cars for three years.
Traksure is being piloted with 500 drivers aged between 20 and 24. Taking the cost of the system into account, Axa reckons the drivers can save 40% on their insurance premiums over three years.
The system records a car's location and speed and gives details every time the speed limit is broken.
Any driver who keeps breaking the limit will be removed from the scheme.
He will be then be liable for the full amount of the premium reduction, plus penalties, to remain insured.
Axa's executive director, Aidan Cassells, said Traksure was primarily a road safety initiative, as speed was a major factor in road accidents. “The only way to reduce insurance premiums is to reduce the number of accidents and the consequent cost of claims,” he said.
Traksure will be evaluated for the next nine to 12 months and, if it proves successful, it is likely to be extended to other drivers.
A spokeswoman for Axa in the UK said it would watch the Irish trial of Traksure with interest.
But she added: “There are no immediate plans to introduce it.”
