American Family Insurance is hoping to reduce the risks presented by teen drivers, who disproportionately account for driving fatalities. While young drivers make up around one-tenth of the population of countries, they account for more than a quarter of drivers killed on roads, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The United States ranks second on the number of deaths and injuries caused by driving.

In the DriveCam solution, the captured recording is downloaded, typically via a cellular connection, to DriveCam’s risk analysis center. Experts subsequently review, score, and provide report summaries on those events, which are transmitted back to the supervisor or parent for further coaching.

The insurance company tapped the driver risk management technology of San Diego-based DriveCam to reduce the risks presented by these young drivers. It began offering the system to customers in three states last March, and over the course of 2007 rolled it out to the rest of its 18 state operating area, says Sam Geraci, manager in marketing strategy and integration with the firm.

The DriveCam solution is a combination of technology and back-up service built on an array of Microsoft applications. A palm-sized video event recorder – which is triggered by driver behaviors such as hard braking and swerving, or by a collision – is installed in the vehicle to capture audio and visual inside and out. The captured recording is then downloaded, typically via a cellular connection, to DriveCam’s risk analysis center, where the files are stored on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 servers. Experts subsequently review, score, and provide report summaries on those events, which are transmitted back to the supervisor or parent for further coaching, explains Kathleen Glass, director of marketing with the firm.

Originally, recorded events from the video units had to be physically downloaded via USB onto a laptop. That was not scalable though, so DriveCam introduced a Wi-Fi capability, which worked fine, but only if the vehicles all came back to a central location, says Glass. Last March the firm began moving to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, where it hosts and manages the underlying technology on a Microsoft .NET infrastructure. As a result, notes Glass, it can be “a lot more scalable and nimble about delivering the service and supporting a wider variety of clients.”

Other Microsoft capabilities the firm uses include Microsoft SQL Server 2005 relational database software and SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services to manage the vast amounts of data, and Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services to deliver that information, adds Glass. DriveCam’s development teams are also using Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server, which helps with everyday tasks from bug tracking to software version control, and the Microsoft ASP.NET Web application framework for rapid coding and related processes.

According to Geraci, the insurer sees two main benefits from using the solution: “One is we get fewer accidents, and less severe accidents. It really does change teens’ driving behavior.”

Accident rates go up considerably once a teenager gets their driving license and the positive influence of having their parents or instructor in the car is removed, Geraci explains. “So getting a chance to put the parents back in the car without having to physically place them there is a big way to improve teen driving.” Indeed, since its inception in March, “we have yet to have any severe injuries caused by a teen in the program,” he says.

The other reason American Family is offering the DriveCam service – which it gives to customers free – is that it is a mutual company. “The reason the company exists is to create happy policyholders, and this seems to be a big pleaser for our customers,” observes Geraci. And as a result, “We do see customers being more likely to stay with us, and longer term customers are more profitable customers.”

Going forwards, American Family may also extend the service to the commercial auto market, adds Geraci. “But we’re in the early stages of that [assessment], so where we go with it is hard to say.”

As for the wider population of insurers, they see various benefits from using the system, says Glass. For one, by increasing awareness of how risky practices trigger events, and by providing ongoing coaching, the system helps to improve driving behaviors and thereby reduce the risk of accidents and the severity of those that do occur. That means less outlay for the insurer on vehicle damage, property damage, workers’ compensation filings and personal injury claims.

In addition, capturing the audio and visual evidence can help clients prove their driver was not at fault when an accident occurs, for example if an ambulance has its lights and siren on when going through an intersection, says Glass. That proof can then save the potential litigation costs, trial time and reputational damage that may otherwise result.

www.amfam.com

www.drivecam.com

By Paul Allen