SambaSafety, in collaboration with the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance and the IoT Insurance Observatory, has published its second annual 2024 Telematics Report, “Connecting the Dots on Strategies & Adoption.”
The report offers a comprehensive view into telematics use in insurance, examining trends in adoption, impact, and investment within insurance companies and fleet operations.
Among commercial insurers, 82% now report using telematics, an increase from 65% in 2023. Sixty percent of these insurers have established specialized telematics teams, with Loss Control emerging as the most represented area within those teams.
Telematics has also had a measurable impact on fleets, with 72% of fleet respondents noting a reduction in crashes and claims through combining telematics with training initiatives. This has translated into lower insurance premiums for one in four fleets.
Additionally, more than half of fleets, at 51%, plan to expand their telematics capabilities in the next year, indicating a strong ongoing interest in telematics.
Usage-based insurance (UBI) also continues to gain momentum, with 70% of commercial insurers aiming to expand their UBI offerings over the next one to two years. This marks a substantial increase from the 33% who reported similar plans in 2023.
Despite telematics’ growth, 75% of insurers cite challenges in convincing fleets to share telematics data as a significant barrier. Conversely, 74% of fleets report that they don’t share this data largely because they have not been asked.
However, 62% of fleets indicate that they foresee no issues in sharing data with insurers or brokers.
According to SambaSafety CEO Matt Scheuing (pictured above), telematics is increasingly regarded as a key strategy for addressing rising claims costs and roadway risks.
“This report provides in-depth insights into how insurers, brokers and fleets are using telematics to create safer roads and establish more profitable insurance programs,” he said.
Rich Lacey, chief product officer at SambaSafety, explained that telematics has evolved beyond simple data collection, focusing now on transforming data into actionable insights for insurers and fleets alike.
“By combining telematics with violations, roadside inspections and claims, a comprehensive risk profile allows fleets to benchmark performance and deliver targeted training to improve their risk,” Lacey said.
SambaSafety’s telematics infrastructure supports over 60% of connected commercial vehicles across North America and the UK.
