Researchers: Telematics Insurance Cuts Young Driver Deaths

Greg Hyde

---

15th November 2018

A risk management firm claims a 35% reduction in deaths and injuries of 17-to-19-year-old drivers since 2011 is due to telematics insurance.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions says it has correlated driver death rates with the “growth in telematics policies (since 2011)”. It claims its research, which shows a 35% death rate cut for 17-to-19-year-old drivers compared with a 16% cut for 25-to-59-year-olds, demonstrates how “telematics insurance has done more to cut accident risk than any other road safety initiative aimed at the young driver market”.

While the company itself freely admits that “road safety figures have generally plateaued since 2011/2012”, it claims the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA)’s estimate that around 80% of young drivers have telematics insurance is the likely cause of a decreased death and injury rate among them.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions director of global telematics Graham Gordon said “young drivers remain the riskiest drivers on our roads”, but argued the insurance sector deserved the credit for fewer of them dying for having “develop[ed] an insurance product that encourages safer driving”.

And Ageas head of autonomous vehicle research Tim Marlow suggested future advances in telematics could potentially “reduce casualties amongst other age groups, making a welcome contribution to our stagnated casualty reduction targets”.