Swiss Re and car-electronics company Pioneer have developed a telematics product that provides insurers with better and more personalized risk assessment. The product will be integrated into Swiss Re’s Coloride app and is slated for global launch early next year.

Coloride assigns drivers a risk score that insurers can use to calculate a usage-based insurance premium, allowing them to reward cautious drivers and flag risky ones. With the new integration, Coloride will provide real-time driver warnings based on Pioneer’s map data and ADAS algorithms. These warnings will help drivers avoid accidents, Swiss Re said. The product can also be extended to a range of devices that collect acceleration data to identify and reconstruct an accident. Some of the devices feature an emergency button, which allows a driver to call for support following a traffic accident.

“Swiss Re is working with partners across the industry on new digital insurance solutions that will help us close the protection gap in all lines of business,” said Eric Shuh, global head of property and casualty at Swiss Re. “Together we explore new opportunities to solve challenges that span the insurance value chain, expand the footprint of insurance, and make insurance more affordable and available, while better engaging customers.”

“With Coloride, we already provide one of the highest-ranked telematics apps to our clients, allowing insurers to accurately reflect the driving behaviour of their policyholders into their pricing,” said Sebastiaan Bongers, head of automotive and mobility solutions at Swiss Re. “Moreover, the increased interaction with customers leads to more acquisition and retention, and with Coloride insurers can offer end customers valuable features that help improve safety. Following our clients’ demand, through our collaboration with Pioneer, we complement the current offering with instant safety information and hardware-enabled features, like automatic accident detection, first notice of loss, and fast claim settlement, as well as advanced claims reconstruction, via a dedicated portal available to insurers.”

Traffic accidents kill 1.2 million people worldwide every year, costing economies between 1% and 3% of their gross domestic product, according to the World Health Organization.