[truezealous]

HIGHLIGHTS:

• How you drive and how many accidents you are involved in could soon be a factor for insurance companies to decide the premium you need to pay to insure your vehicle.

• At present, insurance premium is linked to the type of vehicle and engine capacity.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), the insurance regulator, has set up a nine-member panel to recommend the implementation framework and the methodology to link insurance premiums with traffic violations. It has been asked to submit its report in two months.

Source

[libranof1987]

The ground work for this has been around for a while now. All the "features" you'd get from a Telematics device: from geo-fencing to vehicle management are in exchange for data on how/where you drive.

Here's an example:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...elematics.html (Review: Bajaj Allianz Drivesmart - Insurance with Telematics)

[sushantr5]

Well I think, India is not ready yet for this. Unless Law and Order on the road (or in general) improves, this will be disaster for the honest guys. Here is how,

If I get into accident and responsible is the other party for this accident. Now 'Whose Fault?' argument will mostly turn into street brawl. Most of the time other guys are strongmen and most of us can not put a fight with these guys.

With this premium linked to accidents will lead to intense street brawl and most of the time guys like me will loose. Today I can take pinch by accepting my loss with NCB and Self Contribution by claiming the repair from my insurance. But tomorrow I have to feel the pain with every insurance premium. In India, Police comes no where in picture in these kind of incidences.

Here in Germany, if such thing happens, there will be street argument but not physical brawl and police will do their part without partiality. Even then if I am not satisfied, I can go to court and my traffic insurance will help me in court battles. In Germany, in case of fault, insurance premium touches sky literally.

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

The ground work for this has been around for a while now. All the "features" you'd get from a Telematics device: from geo-fencing to vehicle management are in exchange for data on how/where you drive.

But this is different; here they intend to probably tap into the listing of violations in the Vaahan portal. My colleagues had recently advised an Indian insurance company to try exactly that; they're planning to act on the said advice and build an API which will serve as a bridge from their Underwriting platform to the Vaahan portal. Based on the vehicle details which are entered by an applicant on the insurer's web-portal, all its listed traffic violations will be siphoned in and factored into the premium calculation for the applicant.

I love it. Our country's geriatric insurance industry is finally catching up with developed countries!

Telematics and pay-as-you-drive is a different but more effective ballgame. This though is just about ensuring that bad karma catches up with our drivers. Moving traffic violations such as jumping red lights, rash driving etc. will bite our drivers pretty soon.

[varunsangal]

Originally Posted by truezealous

How you drive and how many accidents you are involved in could soon be a factor for insurance companies to decide the premium you need to pay to insure your vehicle.

This will be an absolutely stellar move by IRDA. The archaic insurance premium calculation needs to be revamped.

It will be bliss to not pay increased insurance premium because the next guy thought zero dep was godsend and decided to make good use of it.

An additional caveat should be that no body repair work to be allowed unless there is an attached police report on the accident or it be mandatory to enter repairs in in a central vehicle database like carfax or similar that feeds insurance systems.

[GTO]

I completely agree with this line of thought. I haven't made an insurance claim in years, the last crash I had was ~25 years ago and the last traffic violation I don't even remember. I should definitely get a better rate than someone without a clean history . But I have a feeling it's going to go the other way. The prices won't go down from the current levels; they will instead increase for major violators.

[SS-Traveller]

I would certainly like to see motor insurance premium being linked to age and competence of the driver as well as previous insurance reports about a particular car model, rather than the cubic capacity of a car's engine. There should be information provided to the insurance companies regarding additional drivers of cars, their age and prior accident history, before such a person can drive the car.

Certain current scenarios about how cars are insured in India, are faulty.

- A teenager drives a 300 bhp sports car (and is more likely to crash it & claim insurance), while another expert driver aged, say, 40 years, who drives a similar car (and is a lot less likely to crash) - both pay exactly the same insurance premium. Not fair.

- A Bolero for example, with a 2.5L engine, is way slower than, say, a 1.5L Honda City or a Hyundai Verna, and is also priced a little less. Yet, the owner of a Bolero pays a higher premium, just because the engine's cubic capacity exceeds a certain cut-off set by the insurance regulatory authorities. Not fair again.

- A car (with unidentified driver) gets a dozen traffic violations a year, maybe has a few minor shunts which the owner does not claim insurance for - he gets the same no-claim benefit and a reduction of premium that a meticulous driver with zero traffic violations gets. Not fair.

- A car parked on the street at night is more vulnerable to theft and vandalism, than one parked in a locked garage or secure building compound. Yet, both pay the same premium. Entirely unfair.

So, yes, the IRDAI and government need to rethink the way insurance premiums are calculated, and not just hike the premium for high-risk drivers, but pass on benefits to low-risk drivers. I'd certainly love to get a further discount on my insurance costs, even beyond the maximum no-claim discount that I enjoy.

What I love about how motor insurance works in other countries: my daughter pays a pretty steep insurance premium because she's just 21 (in the first year, when she was 18, companies refused to issue her a comprehensive cover for total loss - now she enjoys a small NCD as well, because she has zero traffic violations for the time she's ben driving). Every time I visit her, she has to add my name as additional driver, by providing my age and DL details, as well as reporting my driving violations in Australia (if any). The insurance company automatically reduces her premium for that month by about 6-7%.

I'd love it if my motor insurance premium in India goes down by 6-7% compared to what a 21-year-old person pays for the same car - but that's unlikely to happen in India, I suppose. More likely, the other guy would pay a 10-20% additional premium.

[Jeep]

Have got telematics stuff installed in my car for a year now. Can track the distance traveled, and every travel shows up with emoticons against it, Red, Amber, Green.

For short distances within London city, it's difficult to get a green, as you would brake (I do for traffic lights turning amber if none behind). Sudden braking reduces your chance of getting Amber or Green. Nevertheless, I got green overall for last year and got a discount (not sure good or usual NCB) for renewal. As GTO mentioned, had it been red overall, it would have shot up disproportionately.

I do hate it, it gives Amber at max for night driving!

[airbus]

I like this idea of linking insurance premium with traffic violations. Repeat offenders will need to think about cost involved with every violation and might possibly change behaviour.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by airbus

I like this idea of linking insurance premium with traffic violations.

I'm very guarded on this. For instance, are traffic violations' management itself is flawed. Look at the number of instances people have got violations because the camera couldn't read the number plate correctly. Or, cops issuing challans to a car driver for riding without helmet. These might be rare, but they do happen. When there isn't redressal, and especially in a country where cops don't always play by the law, this will end up being a nightmare. Imagine the mayhem when cops are running short on their monthly quota.

Add to this,

Originally Posted by sushantr5

If I get into accident and responsible is the other party for this accident. Now 'Whose Fault?' argument will mostly turn into street brawl. Most of the time other guys are strongmen and most of us can not put a fight with these guys.

+1