Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Friday 27 July 2018
Insurers turn to technology to woo drivers

By LACIE GLOVER surers want to make you
NerdWallet a better, safer driver. De-
Americans love technol- pending on the program,
ogy, and we expect com- drivers may get immediate
panies to deliver delightful feedback through in-app
digital experiences. driving reports and scores,
Insurers aren't doing that — or even from devices that
yet. So far, updates have beep when drivers brake
been skin-deep. hard or turn too sharply.
"If you go to a carrier's Insurers are also targeting
website, the look and feel distracted driving, which
is pretty good, but the was reported in 9% of fatal
functionality is lacking," crashes in 2016, according
says Tom Super, director of to the latest data from the
J.D. Power's property and National Highway Traffic
casualty insurance prac- Safety Administration. Be-
tice, who conducted the cause crashes often result
company's 2018 Insurance in claims, insurers hope to
Digital Experience Study. see a decrease by monitor-
People expect an experi- ing cell phone use, a com-
ence that works like when mon driving distraction.
they're at Amazon, Netflix In this May 25, 2018, file photo, motorists guide their vehicles down Interstate 70 near Evergreen, In addition to tracking how
and Uber, Super says. Colo. you drive, apps from Root
Though most auto insurers Associated Press and AAA can tell if you're
have a long way to go, using your phone while you
major companies and new cars' diagnostic ports to al- ior. some demographic fac- drive, which will have an
players have rolled out low the company to moni- 2. SETTING PRICES BASED tors, but it isn't as interested impact on your rate. Arity,
technology-based features tor their driving can earn ON YOUR (ACTUAL) DRIV- in your personal details, says a subsidiary of Allstate, is
to win over new custom- discounts. The technology ING CEO and co-founder Alex working to bring this capa-
ers and meet drivers' de- — which tracks data like Auto insurers' use of demo- Timm. "There's not really a bility to existing monitoring
mands. acceleration, hard braking, graphic factors , such as 'great driver' demographic programs at Allstate and
Here's a look at what insur- time of day and how much age, gender and marital — we find them across the Esurance.
ers are doing today — and you drive — is also avail- status, when setting rates country, in all sorts of situa- 4. USING ALEXA TO HELP
what they might try next. able in an app. isn't exactly popular with tions," Timm says. YOU AT HOME
1. TRACKING DRIVING FOR Other insurers that track drivers. Other companies are pric- Voice assistants, like Ama-
DISCOUNTS, REWARDS driving behavior reward A start-up, Root Insurance, ing coverage based on zon's Alexa, are increasing-
Many major insurers now safe drivers with cash back, is trying a new model: Pric- how much you drive. In se- ly popular, and insurance
offer telematics, technol- freebies or a combination ing based on how you lect states, MetroMile, All- companies are taking
ogy that collects informa- of rewards and policy dis- drive, which could save state and Esurance, for ex- note. Customers at Liberty
tion about your driving counts. Often, drivers get a money for safe drivers. The ample, offer policies where Mutual, the first auto insurer
behavior, in exchange for discount simply for opting insurance, currently avail- drivers pay a base rate, to develop a voice-acti-
discounts or rewards. in. While many companies able in 19 states with plans plus a per-mile rate. vated resource for Alexa,
Progressive was first, hav- say that driving behavior is for five more, tracks driving 3. EVALUATING DRIVING TO can get a car insurance es-
ing launched its telematics- monitored solely to deter- behavior during a two- to CURB BAD HABITS timate or ask general insur-
based program "Snapshot" mine discounts, Progressive six-week "test drive" before Beyond offering discounts ance questions while do-
in 2011. Customers who might increase rates if your giving you a quote. to customers who opt into ing household chores, for
plug a device into their data show unsafe behav- The company still considers monitoring programs, in- example.q

Twitter says it doesn't 'shadow

ban' after Trump tweet

Party chair Ronna McDan- said it does not "shadow tives before. Diamond and
iel were not showing up ban." The company said it Silk, the Trump-supporting
in one aspect of Twitter's was aware that some ac- video personalities, had
search function. counts were not automati- their page removed by
While the accounts did cally populating but that Facebook earlier this year,
show up during a general was due to a bug they are leading to outcries of cen-
search, they didn't auto- working to fix. The social sorship, including from sev-
In this Oct. 13, 2015, file photo, the Twitter logo appears on a
phone post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. matically populate in a media site said in a state- eral congressmen. During
Associated Press drop-down bar when typ- ment it does not make his Congressional hearing
ing in the name. judgments based on po- in April, Facebook founder
NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter and said he was going to In his tweet Trump ac- litical views or substance of Mark Zuckerberg said this
shares fell Thursday after look into the matter. cused Twitter of "shadow tweets. was an "enforcement er-
President Donald Trump The tweet came after a banning," or limiting visibil- Social media sites like Face- ror" and the page would
said in a tweet the com- story in Vice magazine ity, of some Republicans book and Twitter have be reinstated.
pany was limiting visibility said prominent Republi- and said it was "discrimi- been accused of having Twitter shares fell 4 percent
of prominent Republicans cans such as Republican natory and illegal." Twitter a bias against conserva- in afternoon trading.q