ICMIF member Unipol Group, Italy’s largest motor insurer, today announced a new partnership with TrueMotion, the leading platform for smartphone telematics. As part of the partnership, Unipol will leverage data-driven insights from the patented TrueMotion platform to power its smartphone telematics programs, starting with Linear’s BestDriver program in Italy. Linear Assicurazioni is the online motor insurance of Unipol Group. The BestDriver program is the first smartphone-only telematics program in Italy driven by an insurance company. Its goal is to educate drivers on the risks of distracted driving.
“Distracted driving makes roads in Italy more dangerous for everyone. The BestDriver program fights distraction by educating people about its dangers and rewarding the safest drivers. Any driver can download Linear BestDriver app and win,” said Linear CEO, Giacomo Lovati. “TrueMotion’s smartphone telematics platform enables us to offer a superior user experience based on actual driving behavior and reach every Italian driver with a smartphone.”
Anyone in Italy can download the free app in Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store. The program evaluates a person’s driving behavior. Factors include distracted driving, driving aggression, and speeding. Drivers can monitor their trips, driving styles, and levels of distraction in the BestDriver app. Safe drivers can win Amazon gift cards up to EUR 20 every week.
Linear’s BestDriver app is the result of the collaboration between Linear and Leithà , the Unipol Group’s competence center for Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. Leithà handled design, development, data collection, processing systems, and machine learning models essential for this project. “Bringing together TrueMotion’s technology and Linear’s objective to promote safe driving presented a unique opportunity to apply Leithà ’s skills in the field of AI and UX design,” said Leithà CEO Renzo Avesani.
“Unipol and Linear are true thought leaders in auto insurance and telematics, and we’re thrilled to partner with them in the fight against distracted driving in Italy,” said TrueMotion CEO Ted Gramer. “Italy has traditionally used telematics for claims, which is what makes the BestDriver program in part so innovative. BestDriver is also Italy’s first smartphone-only telematics program. With so much transformation happening in the auto insurance industry across Europe, it’s sure to be the first of many to come.”
TrueMotion captures the most granular driving data in the industry – with only a smartphone. The patented platform identifies the five critical distraction behaviors. This includes: texting and app use, handheld phone calls, hands-free phone calls, phone mount use, and passive phone use such as maps and music apps. TrueMotion’s technology works in the background to capture driving data, so BestDriver app users just need to download the app and drive. There is no hardware or tag to install.
“Linear’s BestDriver program shows the next generation of auto insurance,” said Massimiliano Kisvarday, TrueMotion’s Managing Director, South & East Europe. “The program is smartphone only – it doesn’t connect to a black box. It rewards drivers for safe driving. It provides insights on distraction and other driving behaviors. It will help acquire safer drivers and keep those drivers engaged long-term. This is groundbreaking for motor insurance in Italy.”
According to Istat, the Italian Institute of Statistics, distracted driving is one of the top three causes of crashes in Italy. Istat reports that distracted driving was responsible for over 35,000 crashes in 2017. In rural areas, distraction was the number one cause of crashes.
