Good news for motorists! UK insurer Aviva have launched a special behavioural app that will monitor driving skills and reward safety on the roads with discounts on car insurance premiums. Aviva’s free RateMyDrive app, downloadable on android smartphones, will test the first 200 miles for drivers, including acceleration, braking and corning. The app will then covert the points awarded to an individual driver ‘score’ that could qualify for up to 20 percent discount on car insurance premiums.
The discounts will be greatly beneficial for young and first-time drivers who pay premiums of over £400, and who will be eligible for the 20 percent discount. For those who pay a premium between £200 and £400, discounts available will be capped at 10 percent. Motorists who pay under £200 for their premiums with a history of safe driving will not be eligible for this offer.
Aviva's retail director Steve Treloar said: “Basically, the premium will be for you, not people like you. While drivers who are ‘safer’ will be rewarded with money off of their car insurance, those who are less satisfactory behind the wheel need not worry. We won’t penalise other drivers if their driving doesn’t come up to the standard set by the app. They’ll just receive the standard premium but won’t get a discount.”
Aviva have established themselves as pioneers for trialling in-car black box telematics that monitored driver behaviour and car use on the road. However, the experiment was considered intrusive by many users and too expensive to be continued. Unlike the black box that needed installation in a vehicle, the RateMyDrive app is available to download on user smartphones and performs an equally good job at monitoring driving behaviour.
"Unlike traditional 'black box' telematics solutions, Aviva RateMyDrive app only needs a small amount of data - typically 200 miles - to create an individual driver profile,” explains Mr Treloar. “And because the app is free to download and uses the customer's own smartphone, there is no need for motorists to have a black box installed in their car."
