Automatic vehicle location is a means for automatically determining and transmitting the geographic location of a vehicle. This vehicle location data, from one or more vehicles, may then be collected by a vehicle tracking system to manage an overview of vehicle travel. As of 2017, GPS technology has reached the point of having the transmitting device be smaller than the size of a human thumb, able to run 6 months or more between battery charges, easy to communicate with smartphones — all for less than $20 USD.
Vehicle insurance is insurance for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bodily injury resulting from traffic collisions and against liability that could also arise from incidents in a vehicle. Vehicle insurance may additionally offer financial protection against theft of the vehicle, and against damage to the vehicle sustained from events other than traffic collisions, such as keying, weather or natural disasters, and damage sustained by colliding with stationary objects. The specific terms of vehicle insurance vary with legal regulations in each region.
The Progressive Corporation is an American insurance company. In late 2022, Progressive became the largest motor insurance carrier in the U.S. The company was co-founded in 1937 by Jack Green and Joseph M. Lewis, and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio. The company insures passenger vehicles, motorcycles, RVs, trailers, boats, PWC, and commercial vehicles. Progressive also provides home, life, pet, and other insurance through select companies. Additionally, Progressive offers auto insurance in Australia.
Telematics is an interdisciplinary field encompassing telecommunications, vehicular technologies, electrical engineering, and computer science. Telematics can involve any of the following:
OnStar Corporation is a subsidiary of General Motors that provides subscription-based communications, in-vehicle security, emergency services, turn-by-turn navigation, and remote diagnostics systems throughout the United States, Canada, China, Mexico, Europe, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Fleet management is the management of:
Auto insurance risk selection is the process by which vehicle insurers determine whether or not to insure an individual and what insurance premium to charge. Depending on the jurisdiction, the insurance premium can be either mandated by the government or determined by the insurance company in accordance to a framework of regulations set by the government. Often, the insurer will have more freedom to set the price on physical damage coverages than on mandatory liability coverages.
Under some patent laws, patents may be obtained for insurance-related inventions. Historically, patents could only cover the technological aspects of a new insurance invention. This is still the case in most countries. In the United States, however, recent court decisions have encouraged more inventors to file patent applications on methods of doing business. These patents may be used to get more comprehensive coverage of improvements in basic insurance processes, such as the methods of calculating premiums, reserves, underwriting, etc. This is causing controversy in the insurance industry as some see it as a positive development and others see it as a negative development.
GNSS road pricing or GNSS-based tolling is the charging of road users using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) sensors inside vehicles. Road pricing using GNSS simplifies distance-based tolling for all types of roads in a tolled road network since it does not require the installation and operation of roadside infrastructure, such as tollbooths or microwave-based toll gantries. Instead, all vehicles required to pay the distance-based fees are equipped with an On Board Unit (OBU).
A vehicle miles traveled tax, also frequently referred to as a VMT tax, VMT fee, mileage-based fee, or road user charge, is a policy of charging motorists based on how many miles they have traveled.
A vehicle tracking system combines the use of automatic vehicle location in individual vehicles with software that collects these fleet data for a comprehensive picture of vehicle locations. Modern vehicle tracking systems commonly use GPS or GLONASS technology for locating the vehicle, but other types of automatic vehicle location technology can also be used. Vehicle information can be viewed on electronic maps via the Internet or specialized software. Urban public transit authorities are an increasingly common user of vehicle tracking systems, particularly in large cities.
A connected car is a car that can communicate bidirectionally with other systems outside of the car. This connectivity can be used to provide services to passengers or to support or enhance self-driving functionality. For safety-critical applications, it is anticipated that cars will also be connected using dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) or cellular radios, operating in the FCC-granted 5.9 GHz band with very low latency.
Vehicle insurance in the United States is designed to cover the risk of financial liability or the loss of a motor vehicle that the owner may face if their vehicle is involved in a collision that results in property or physical damage. Most states require a motor vehicle owner to carry some minimum level of liability insurance. States that do not require the vehicle owner to carry car insurance include Virginia, where an uninsured motor vehicle fee may be paid to the state, New Hampshire, and Mississippi, which offers vehicle owners the option to post cash bonds. The privileges and immunities clause of Article IV of the U.S. Constitution protects the rights of citizens in each respective state when traveling to another. A motor vehicle owner typically pays insurers a monthly or yearly fee, often called an insurance premium. The insurance premium a motor vehicle owner pays is usually determined by a variety of factors including the type of covered vehicle, marital status, credit score, whether the driver rents or owns a home, the age and gender of any covered drivers, their driving history, and the location where the vehicle is primarily driven and stored. Most insurance companies will increase insurance premium rates based on these factors, and less frequently, offer discounts.
Lytx is a San Diego, California based technology company that designs, manufactures and sells video telematics products used by commercial and public-sector fleets to help improve driver safety and business productivity. Products include risk detection, fleet tracking, and driver safety programs that use artificial intelligence and analysts to identify risky driving behaviors and report real-time fleet information. The company's clients include waste management and sanitation companies, trucking and distribution, government and municipality vehicles, passenger transit, construction, utilities, telecom and field services. Lytx also provides compliance services for trucking fleets regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Telematics 2.0 is the name for IoT-based telematics technology for the automotive industry. Telematics 2.0 utilises smartphone based sensors rather than black-box devices used in the traditional PAYD insurance industry. Telematics 2.0 solutions hit the consumer market in 2012/3 with solutions being offered by leading auto insurers such as AIG and AssetFENCE in the US.
ERM Electronic Systems ltd., also known as ERM Advanced Telematics, is an Israeli electronic company specializing in the design, development, and manufacture of vehicle security and GPS tracking devices for the telematics and fleet management industry. ERM Advanced Telematics operates globally, providing telematics devices for Stolen Vehicle Recovery (SVR) and Fleet Management Solutions (FMS), all seamlessly integrated within vehicle security.
Real Insurance is a trading name in Australia of Greenstone Financial Services Pty Ltd (GFS) which acts as the retail agent of The Hollard Insurance Company Pty Ltd for the distribution of a range of its general insurance products, including pet insurance, home and contents, and motor insurance. It also distributes a range of life insurance products underwritten by Hannover Life Re of Australasia Ltd, including life insurance, funeral insurance, income protection insurance and bill insurance.
Driveway Software is a telematics company that provides a smartphone-based platform for the usage-based insurance (UBI) industry. The company was co-founded in 2013 by CEO Igor Katsman and Jake Diner. It is headquartered in San Mateo, California.
Octo Group S.p.A., operating as Octo Telematics and corporately styled as OCTO, is an Italian multinational technology company. Founded in Italy in 2002, OCTO is most known for providing telematics and Internet of things (IoT) analytics to the auto insurance industry. This is commonly known as Usage-based insurance (UBI) or pay-as-you-drive insurance. Today, the company is one of the largest telematics and data analytics service provider for the car insurance industry. With their advanced analytical services, OCTO also serves the fleet management industry and provides IoT solutions to a number of other markets.
The Personal Insurance Company, operating as The Personal, is a Canadian insurance company which specializes in group insurance, primarily home insurance and vehicle insurance. The Personal is a subsidiary of Desjardins General Insurance, the third largest P&C insurer in Canada.
