London UK – Telefónica has announced that its German subsidiary has signed a deal with Sparkassen DirektVersicherung to bring the first insurance telematics product to Germany starting this month. The product will offer significant security services and the potential for consumers to save money on their car insurance. It will also encourage safer driving, while at the same time securely protecting personal driving data. The product is an M2M solution based on Telefónica’s Insurance Telematics service.
Drivers opting for the service from Sparkassen DirektVersicherung will have a telematics box installed in their car. This offers a number of benefits to the driver, including:
- Accident notification – the box will automatically notify the emergency services in the event of a major accident, saving valuable time;
- Driving behaviour – the box provides feedback to drivers on their driving behaviour, offering the potential for lower insurance premiums based on adopting more careful ways of driving. The best driver each month will receive free insurance for three months;
- Car tracking in the event that the car is stolen.
The service is backed by stringent security and data protection measures, ensuring that only the driver can access their personal driving information and travelled routes. Sparkassen DirektVersicherung only receives the driving scores and the number of kilometers driven each month. Sparkassen can’t see any data related to driver’s location or journey history.
Today’s announcement follows the launch of Telefónica’s Insurance Telematics product in Germany earlier this year, enabling insurance companies to offer this innovative insurance policy to their customers.
“We are seeing rapid growth in this market across Europe as consumers recognise the benefits of telematics in helping them to save money on their insurance premiums,” said Carlos Morales, M2M Director at Telefónica Digital. “Through partnerships like this we can work together with the insurance industry to help them leverage the significant benefits this technology can bring to their businesses.”