Carrot launches phone-only telematics policy for safer drivers

“85% of us think that we’re better than average drivers,” according to Nick Corrie, managing director of telematics technology company Trakglobal.

And Corrie wants to reward the 50% of us who really are better than average drivers with weekly treats and lower premiums.

After three years successful operation in the new driver market, Trakglobal’s insurance subsidiary Carrot is expanding its mobile phone-only telematics-based insurance offering into the mainstream market, with a “Better Driver” policy aimed at drivers with two or more years’ experience, Corrie told Insurance Times.

“Better Driver is for the 85% of drivers who feel they pay for other drivers’ mistakes,” Corrie said. “Better Driver proves they really are better drivers.”

Customers download the Carrot mobile phone app that monitors their driving, and gives them a performance score at the end of every trip.

If the customer is in the “green zone” (see picture above) at the end of each week’s driving, a reward is triggered, entitling them to a free pizza, music downloads, chocolate or other treat. And customers are also advised on how their overall performance will affect their policy renewal discount.

The Carrot app uses only the phone’s inbuilt accelerometers and GPS to monitor driving behaviour. The Carrot scheme does not require a telematics box to be fitted to the customers car.

“Telematics boxes are expensive. You need a premium of £800-£900 to justify the cost of a box,” Corrie said.

He said the app is a cost-effective way to deliver the benefits of telematics technology to more experienced drivers where premiums average £372.

“The app is 85% cheaper than a traditional telematics unit, which hugely increases the addressable market, but with the additional advantage that the data generated for risk management is also robust and actionable,” he said.

And to make sure Carrot doesn’t record train rides and journeys in other cars, the app is only activated when the phone syncs with the insured car’s unique Bluetooth signature.

And what if the insured driver is a passenger in his own car, with his mother driving carefully?

“That’s okay,” he said. “The car will have been driven safely; and he can give his mother the free pizza.”