Norwich Union (NU) could use its Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD) technology to bid for future government schemes on new forms of road taxing.

The Labour Party repeated its interest in changing the system of road tax in its recent election manifesto. Norwich Union's telematics scheme is understood to be one of the options the government would consider.

Labour's manifesto said the government will "examine the potential of moving away from the current system of motoring taxation towards a national system of road-pricing".

Norwich Union could be in poll position to implement any new road pricing scheme as it has Europe-wide exclusivity on marketing the use of telematics to determine insurance rates.

Norwich Union programme director for PAYD insurance Robert Ledger said: "NU's agreement with Progressive gives them the exclusive rights to market the method of determining Pay-As-You-Drive insurance rates based on usage in the UK and 16 other European countries.

"Progressive owns the patent on a real-time method of determining PAYD insurance rates using information about how much, when and where a vehicle is driven."

Although Ledger said NU did not see itself as a tax collecting body the idea of being a one-stop shop for purchasing, insuring, repairing and, possibly, taxing vehicles was a company aim.

He said: "We are talking to the government on two levels, in the UK and Europe."