Personal lines broker BDML Connect is set to launch a fully underwritten motor breakdown service.
BDML Connect managing director Paul Cosh said: "Most breakdown policies are not underwritten. There is just a standard fee for all, usually around £120-£130 for a comprehensive service including European cover, while a basic policy is around £60."
Cosh added that much more could be done to assess the risks involved. For instance, he said, cars that were serviced regularly were less likely to breakdown and some people actually used their service just to get the car moving in the morning. "There is enough value in the policy for it to be cost effective to underwrite," he said.
Cosh said that the sums involved - averaging £110 per policy - were similar for those in pet cover, where BDML, through its Thornside division, introduced a sophisticated underwriting mechanism last year.
The Thornside system rates pet cover on nine different criteria including sex, breed and previous ailments.
Group chief executive Sandy Dunn said Lloyd's could be used to place risks.