the discussion on PH
we sent Citroen some questions to see if we could address some of the concerns raised in the thread - here are the responses in full.
Do drivers equipped with 'black boxes' represent a safer bet for insurers?
"All the figures are confidential to the specific insurers, but industry feedback suggests driver behavioural monitoring through black box technology significantly reduces claim costs. Every scheme Trafficmaster has been involved in has had extremely good results in this respect in both the USA and UK. This is reasonably obvious because:
1. People signing up are self-selecting.
2. People modify their driving behaviour.
3. People are less likely to inflate claims and more likely to be honest about the circumstances."
How does it work if more than one driver shares a car? Is there a way of storing information from more than one driver, for example, via a PIN-based login system?
"Technically this is feasible, but if the insurance policy tracks how the vehicle is driven to assess the risk on the car then the insurer needs to know how the car was driven regardless of which named driver was in the driving seat."
Is there an appeals process if a driver thinks they've been unfairly 'marked down' for something they claim not to have done?
"If the GPS logs excessive speed (involving hundreds or even thousands of data points) you can be sure it happened. Because the system is automated we do not expect mistakes, but extreme cases could be investigated. However experience reveals that where such claims have been investigated the vehicle has typically been taken and used without the owner's knowledge."
How can you be certain that the GPS information is accurate in all circumstances? Is it possible for incorrect data to be uploaded from the telematics system, for instance if there's insufficient signal?
"The system records a data point every second and in cases where the odd data point is missed or incorrect the system is smart enough to discard the point. In places such as tunnels where there may be an insufficient GPS signal, speed gets averaged from the start of a tunnel to the end."
Some of the parameters of what makes a 'good', 'bad' or 'safe' driver can be pretty subjective and telemetry is a pretty blunt tool for assessing this - how do you set these parameters?
"We have looked at all the common causes of accidents and wherever possible have developed proxies to try to measure how the driver performs. Actually telemetry is not a blunt tool, for example frequent harsh braking is a good proxy for driving too close to the car in front, for example."
Is there any manual interpretation of the data to filter out any obvious anomalies or is it all purely automated?
"100 per cent automated, but as stated above obvious anomalies will be ignored."
Is any information concerning journeys recorded by the insurer and used to calculate premiums or even to be used as marketing information in the style of supermarket loyalty cards?
"No, this is certainly not the case. Telematics provides drivers an opportunity to prove to the motor insurance provider what a safe driver they are. If safe driving characteristics within the data captured are displayed consistently throughout the year a discount off any renewal premium may be offered."
In the event of an accident or prosecution for an offence would or could the insurers provide data to the police? Would it be admissable?
"Usually they would only do that if the police get a court order. There has been a case which involved a fatality a few years ago and the insurer provided black box data to prove their driver was not to blame."