As a personal injury law firm, our attorneys and staff members work with insurance companies on a daily basis. Most of our case load involves automobile crashes, so we possess a certain amount of expertise when it comes to automobile insurance policies.
In each U.S. state, there are more than 100 licensed auto insurance companies. Each of these companies claim to offer superior policies than their counterparts, but in reality they are each much the same. That may soon change, thanks to a developing technology that will provide insurers the ability to collect vehicle odometer readings.
Verisk Insurance Solutions is partnering with Atlanta-based technology firm Vehcon to create OdometerConfirm, a product that is said to allow insurance companies to use a policyholder’s smartphone to capture an automobile’s odometer readings. This product is expected to be especially beneficial to companies providing usage-based insurance programs. These UBI programs feature costs that are dependent upon details such as miles driven. The annual mileage of a vehicle is viewed by insurers as a predictor of loss costs. This mileage rating factor is important for a variety of automobile insurance writers and is even mandatory in California. Unfortunately, this number is difficult to accurately determine and maintain.
OdometerConfirm is said to provide the ability for carriers to capture VIN and odometer data instantly, which will be extracted, validated, and reported to insurers. While this may cause auto insurance costs to increase for many consumers, it may also provide additional discounts for those currently missing out. Regardless of the benefit to consumers, this technology will likely benefit insurers most of all. Studies estimate that insurance companies are missing out on approximately $3 billion in revenue as a result of policyholders’ imperfect mileage reporting.
It is still unclear when this product will officially be available for use.
Categories: Auto Insurance
