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Driverless Cars Not a Concern, Allstate Says

Driverless car

Driverless cars are becoming more of a reality, with testing in full swing by Google and others, and software upgrades underway for existing models of Tesla cars. One industry that will be impacted by larger number of safe vehicles on the road is the auto insurance industry. One insurer, Allstate, is carefully following the progress being made, but emphasized safety over possible diminishing profits. In its annual report for 2015, Allstate wrote:

Consider what is happening with autonomous cars. Today, only modest levels of driver-assistance technology are available, and only on a limited set of vehicles. However, the technology for fully autonomous cars is advancing rapidly and the legal and regulatory framework will follow. At some point, the fleet of a quarter-billion vehicles could be smaller and will include technologically sophisticated vehicles that are safer, more effective and efficient. Fewer, safer cars would benefit consumers and the environment, but could affect demand for auto insurance.

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The financial squeeze that autonomous cars could put on the insurance industry has been expected for years, The Chicago Tribune noted. In 2012, financial technology consulting firm Celent published “A Scenario: The End of Auto Insurance: What Happens When There Are (Almost) No Accidents?

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While Allstate states that demand for auto insurance could diminish, it points out that this is not a concern. “Some industry participants are waiting to see how this will play out. Allstate is not,” the insurer said, adding:

We are moving forward into uncertainty rather than wait. Throughout our history, Allstate has led from the front on auto safety—for example, as an early proponent of seat belts and air bags. We support the introduction of new driver-assistance technology that makes driving safer, because this is about saving lives and protecting the hopes and dreams of those who depend on us. We are confident Allstate will thrive in whatever new world emerges because of a differentiated strategy, strong brands, passionate agency partners and committed employees. Preparations for a new and different future are well under way.

Lance J. Ewing, hospitality and leisure industry practice group leader with AIG, previously told Risk Management magazine, “With more than five million vehicle accidents in the U.S. resulting in over 30,000 deaths, any enhancement is welcome, but there may be collateral results from the driverless highways.”

America’s Safest Driving Cities

Winter weather has yet to appear in many parts of the country, but it’s on its way. When factoring rainy or snowy conditions into collision frequency, however, some cities are safer than others in many types of weather, according to the 2015 Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report.

driversWhile there are many factors that impact highway safety, an improving economy and lower gas prices have led to an increase in the number of miles being driven.

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According to the Federal Highway Administration’s latest Traffic Volume Trend Report, cumulative travel for 2015 is up by 3.

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5%. The September report is based on hourly traffic count data reported by the states, using data collected at about 4,000 continuous traffic counting locations nationwide.

Recently, the National Safety Council estimated that the U.S. is on track for its deadliest driving year since 2007. In the first six months of 2015, NSC reported traffic deaths were up 14% from a year ago, and serious injuries were 30% higher over the same period.

The city with the best driving report this year is Kansas City, Kansas. Factoring in precipitation, Cape Coral, Fla., and Brownsville, Tex., came in second and third, respectively. Cities at the bottom of the list of 200 were Boston, Massachusetts; Worcester, Massachusetts; and Baltimore, Maryland. New York City was listed at 151.

The report is based on Allstate’s claims data, ranking America’s 200 largest cities in terms of car collision frequency to identify which have the safest drivers. The data also shows how these cities rank when precipitation is a factor. The rankings are based on the expected driver performance given each city’s average annual precipitation as measured by NOAA, according to Allstate.

America’s safest driving cities:

ABD-Infographic-2015-1

The 10 Greatest Insurance Commercials

A week ago, after the New York Football Giants beat Green Bay, a sports writer from Beer Mug Sports known only as The Big Kahuma took to Twitter to poke fun at Packers quarterback (and probably NFL MVP) Aaron Rodgers. See, the Giants defense is very physical and they often tackled Rodgers.

If Aaron Rodgers switched to Allstate, he would’ve had protection from mayhem, like the Giants.

This of course is based on the insurer’s “mayhem” ad series.

In fact, they have become such infamous and popular commercials that BusinessInsurance.org ranked it first in its list of the 10 best insurance commercials.

The Risks of Social Media: How Insurance Companies Are Benefitting Despite the Potential Perils

It’s been quite awhile since we last added to our Risks of Social Media series. There has of course been many developments and discussions of the risks involved over the past year, but more so than the downsides, companies should now be focusing on the upside. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and now, perhaps, Google+ all present vast marketing, reputation, customer service and sales benefits so it would be foolish to continue ignoring the social media revolution just due to the downsides.

For a recap of the perils, however, let’s look at the below slide from the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation’s presentation “Social Media 2.0 for Insurance Professionals.”

These issues are real concerns. They must be dealt with. And anyone in your company who is tasked with managing any aspect of the firm’s social media platform must undergo training that highlights the risks just as much as the opportunities.

But just look at how even these — theoretically — risk-averse companies are leveraging social media for their own gains. Insurers are generally not going to jump into something if the threat outweighs the upside. So if they’re doing it, chances are you should be, too. (all slides courtesy of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s presentation for IICF)

State Farm

 

Farmers

 

Progressive

 

Allstate