Bengaluru: Visualise this: The insurance premium that you pay for your car will be decided based on your driving behaviour more than the make or model of your vehicle. In other words, you will end up paying more if your car rates you a bad driver !

This may soon be a reality in the country, predict Internet of Things (IoT) experts while outlining how the insurance sector is getting ready to roll out Usage Based Insurance (UBI) – a type of automobile insurance that tracks driving behaviour and patterns using sensors and telematics devices fitted in vehicles.

“UBI is coming in a big way here. It will change the insurance industry drastically,” said technology speaker and NTT India director (solutions) Lux Rao while speaking on the topic ‘Top disruptive trends and future possibilities for IoT in India’, during the IoT Innovation Conclave organised in the city.

UBI is primarily driven by data sourced through telematics devices that record driving related patterns like harsh accelerations and the distances travelled, instances of hard-braking, damages caused to the vehicle’s body, fast driving through corners, changing directions quickly and deployment of airbags.

Pointing to the advent of connected cars in the country, Rao said a high-end sedan has at least 70 sensors and these are continuously sending out data to the cloud. This data can be used by insurance companies to determine the risk profile of the driver and decide how much premium should be collected. A person driving more kilometres by pressing the accelerator hard might be told to pay more premium as he is a ‘risky’ driver while a person who drives short distances and slow is given a discount as he considered a ‘safe’ driver, he added.

There are about 27 billion IoT devices currently and their number could increase to 50 billion by end of next year, added Rao.

Bengaluru-based Ather Energy vice president (digital technology) Sirish Batchu said the role of IoT in the automobile sector will become vital with governments giving a big push for electric vehicles (EVs).

He said, “EVs are a completely different ball-game as it is completely driven by software and sensors. Electric scooters are fully connected and the data from them provide a lot of insights into the vehicle’s performance and help us addressing ‘range-anxiety’, one of the major challenges the segment faces.”

IoT will not only be used to customise the scooter’s settings depending on the rider’s profile but will also lead to predictive diagnostics regarding the vehicle’s condition, he added.

On IoT deployment for effective fleet management, Tata Communications associate vice president (IoT- sales and strategic initiatives) Lalit K Mishra said demand for secondary trackers will increase with the growth of bike and rental companies, who use them to locate and reclaim their assets. IoT features will also help insurance companies while making payments, he added.

Human error major cause for accidents

According to the ministry of road transport and highways transport research wing, the biggest cause of road accidents in the country is human error. Data pertaining to road accidents recorded across the country in 2018 reveals that speeding and lack of lane discipline formed a major part of traffic violations that caused accidents. In 2018, over 97,000 persons died because of speeding and around 9,000 because of lane indiscipline. Monitoring errant driving patterns through IoT and following it up with punitive action including high insurance premiums could reform rogue drivers and make roads safe, say technology experts and police officers.

