Quindell, U.K. firm partner on ‘connected car’ offering

Insurance technology firm Quindell has partnered with United Kingdom auto services and insurance firm RAC to create a new business, Connected Car Solutions Limited, to distribute their telematics technology.

The new joint venture, which includes a £30 million investment split fairly equally between the firms, will market and distribute their combined telematics capabilities across the U.K., Europe and Canada. A further £70 million will be invested in the longer term, “subject to key milestones,” according to Quindell.

The roll out of the telematics proposition to 2.1 million RAC individual members will begin in July, the company said. The overall medium to longer-term target is a subscriber base of 12 million, to be each paying between $5 to $15 per month, according to Quindell’s statement.

“We have created a joint venture business which will ensure that RAC telematics is at the fore of insurance and motoring innovation and a financial deal which will enable the RAC to give all of its members the benefits of state-of-the-art telematics technology,” RAC chief executive Chris Woodhouse said in a press release.

“In so doing we believe that this will deliver substantial benefits to all drivers, but particularly to younger drivers, by allowing them to monitor and modify their own driving behaviours with a view to reducing their insurance premiums as a result.”

The Quindell brand will be used mainly for existing insurance relationships, and the RAC brand, which has been licensed to Connected Car Solutions, will be used primarily for fleet, and consumer relationships, according to RAC.