LexisNexis Risk Solutions is working with Mercedes-Benz Connectivity Services to help the car manufacturer’s customers across Europe benefit from personalised insurance products and programmes based on their vehicle’s advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
The aim of the agreement is to enable Mercedes-Benz customers to maximise the investment car owners have made in their vehicle’s ADAS, when they shop for insurance, by allowing the insurance sector to understand exactly how a vehicle is equipped, at the point of quote.
To this end, when a customer requests a quote for insurance and agrees to the processing of equipment-related information, LexisNexis Risk Solutions will check for the presence of ADAS features related to that specific vehicle via an API provided by Mercedes-Benz Connectivity Services so that this insight can be fed into the insurance market’s quoting systems.
As data protection is always given the highest priority by Mercedes-Benz Connectivity Services and by LexisNexis Risk Solutions, the organisations have implemented the appropriate mechanisms and processes to protect the customer’s privacy when processing the vehicle’s features’ information.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions will normalise and provide the outcome from the OEM data to insurance providers in a secure and compliant manner, delivered through its LexisNexis Vehicle Build solution.
Howard Abbey, autonomous car specialist at SBD Automotive, said: “The ADAS features included in new cars have been linked to reducing accidents, and those ADAS options are more frequently purchased. However, wide differences in ADAS naming has made it difficult for consumers and the industry to correctly equate systems from different OEMs. This makes it difficult for insurance providers to give the correct risk reduction savings to owners of vehicles with ADAS.”
LexisNexis Vehicle Build harnesses the company’s proprietary ADAS Classification System, which simplifies the myriad names and capabilities of ADAS from all car makers.
The company aggregates and normalises the data, offering more specific ADAS data than available by VIN alone. Vehicle Build confirms the availability of ADAS at a VIN level and has been tested by insurers across Europe over several millions of vehicles and claims.
The new agreement underlines the power of advancing vehicle safety features in delivering more personalised insurance services to consumers based on vehicle-centric data. According to SBD Automotive, across Europe, the average number of ADAS features offered on a given new model increased from 4.2 in 2017 to 7.1 in 2020. LexisNexis internal research shows that beyond number of features, the type and combination of ADAS features can provide greater precision in managing insurance risk.
Sherezad Rehmann, senior director of European connected car at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said: “Mercedes-Benz Connectivity Services understands the huge potential vehicle-centric data holds for more personalised insurance cover, safer driving and to incentivise investment in ADAS. We know ADAS can reduce claims frequency and, as we gather more claims data from the insurance market, that insight can help with pricing and driving further investment in ADAS development. Mercedes-Benz Connectivity Services GmbH is a leader in understanding how these insights can benefit its vehicle owners and is working with us during this pivotal moment in the evolution of motor insurance using connected car and vehicle build data.”
“We have purposefully and mindfully created a bridge between car makers and the insurance market, building on our 30-year history in managing consumer data. Thanks to expertise and direct links with the insurance sector, consumers will soon be able to shop for insurance in a whole new and empowering way.”