How’s my driving?

SURVEYS routinely find that around 80% of drivers think of themselves as being of “above average” ability. Sadly for them—and happily for common sense—their insurers do not take such claims on faith.

Underwriters have traditionally used crude demographic data such as age, location and sex to separate the testosterone-fuelled boy racers from their often tamer female counterparts. Now technology is giving insurers the chance to see just how skilled a driver really is. By monitoring their customers’ motoring habits, underwriters can increasingly distinguish between drivers who are safe on the road from those who merely seem safe on paper. Many think that “telematics insurance” will become the industry norm.