Most European consumers surveyed would use telematics if guaranteed auto insurance premiums would not increase

The majority of respondents in a recent survey of European drivers expressed an interest in auto insurance policies using data gleaned from telematics.

“Across all six participating European countries, 55% of drivers indicated some interest in telematics insurance,” New  York-based Towers Watson, which released the survey, stated Sept. 26.

“The comparable figure for the United States, where telematics is already becoming a mass market product, was 50%.”

Consumers in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States were surveyed during the first half of this year. The survey results from the U.S. were used “primarily as a comparative benchmark” for the responses from Europe.

Towers Watson listed both the percentage of respondents interested in a telematics policy and the percentage interested if there was a guarantee their insurance premium would not increase.

The percentage of respondents interested in a telematics policy was 75% in Italy (and 79% if guaranteed the premium would not increase). The percentages of respondents interested in telematics from other countries in Europe were:

– 69% in Spain (78% if guaranteed the premium would not increase);

-55% in France (62% if guaranteed the premium would not increase);

 -51% in Germany (61% if guaranteed the premium would not increase);

-50% in Britain (57% if guaranteed the premium would not increase); and

-35% in The Netherlands (47% if guaranteed the premium would not increase).

“If the offer of a telematics policy came with a guarantee that the premium would not increase, 64% of European drivers surveyed said they would be interested, with consumers in The Netherlands responding most positively to this incentive,” Towers Watson stated.

Towers Watson’s offerings include risk consulting and financial modeling software as well as reinsurance brokerage. The consumer research on telematics was carried out by London-based fast.MAP Ltd. and more than 7,500 responses were received.

The research, Tower Watson stated, showed that in many markets, “pay as you drive” products “are likely to penalize the very drivers who are most interested in telematics,” which is people who drive frequently.

“Products that focused on mileage, restricted times of vehicle usage or simple ‘event counters’ seem likely to have a short-term future,” stated Duncan Anderson, Towers Watson’s global property and casualty pricing leader, in a release. “The indications are that the appeal of telematics to most consumers is largely associated with ‘pay how you drive’.”

The company noted that a “significant number” of respondents older than 35 “responded positively” to the potential to get additional services with telematics devices, “with theft tracking, automated emergency calls and breakdown notification among the most popular.”