Intact insurance is introducing a tech feature for its Nova Scotia auto insurance customers that could potentially lead to premium discounts.
The province’s utility and review board has approved Intact’s rollout of a mobile phone app that would allow the insurer to track the driving behavior of its customers.
“It’s something that’s relatively new to our region but we have seen it pop up across Canada,” said
Insurance Bureau of Canada Atlantic government relations manager Tom O’Handlay.
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“It just gives the industry a way to be more innovative, and it gives them another way to reward drivers who have positive driving habits or good driving habits and perhaps offer them reduced insurance rates on account of that.”
CBC reported that customers who take part in the program could save up to 25% on their auto insurance premium, based on their performance. What sets this usage-based insurance model apart from those from other insurers is that Intact’s program will be purely app-based – previous programs involved the installation of small devices in customers’ vehicles that would track performance.
“Intact explains that the costs associated with the [small device], including the loss of devices that are not returned, can be significant,” board member Murray Doehler said in his decision. “With the use of the app, there is no device cost. As well, the concern about the loss of the measuring device is eliminated.”
Doehler also noted in his decision that an app would be linked to the main driver’s phone and only record driving habits when that individual is behind the wheel. If a small tracking device was used instead, it would track all drivers who commandeer the vehicle, not just the insured.
An Intact spokesperson told CBC via email that the app is expected to launch in Nova Scotia by late September.
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