Direct Line has set an ambitious goal of revolutionising insurance with a new drone service currently in prototype stage in the UK.
The insurer’s Fleetlights service allows pedestrians, cyclists and motorists to request a swarm of interconnected unmanned aerial vehicles that will provide bright illumination to wherever people are heading. Users can summon the drones through a bespoke smartphone app that utilises GPS data.
“The Fleetlights service can dynamically adapt to your journey, lighting your way whether you are walking, cycling, biking or driving your car,” Direct Line said on its website.
In an interview with tech news website
Inverse, Direct Line marketing director Mark Evans said that Fleetlights is part of the insurer’s efforts to revolutionise insurance and, at the same time, bring the industry back to its roots.
“Insurance as an industry started out as something really good in the world. The notion was that it was the many looking after the few. That’s a societal good,” Evans told
Inverse. “In many cases, particularly in the UK, it lost its way and became known for being not-very-nice to consumers and looking after its own interests a bit too much.
“This is the next era of how we revolutionize the sector into something which is absolutely respected and valued, and that’s good.”
According to
Inverse, Fleetlights drones have been tested in Petworth on the South Downs, which Evans described as the UK’s darkest place. Direct Line has also received some inquiries about the service and its potential use in search-and-rescue operations.
Evans said the Fleetlights service won’t make its commercial debut any time soon, but the company is committed to the project despite regulatory and financial issues hounding the use of drones.
“Increasingly, technology will shift the centre of gravity for insurance from restitution towards prevention,” Evans said in a press release.
“We want to lead the trend into this space and so we are always looking at innovative ways to proactively improve everyday life through emerging technologies,” he added.
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