Business News: TrueMotion, INRIX, Enservio, Allianz, AGCS, ParaZero

TrueMotion, the leading platform for smartphone telematics, announced a strategic partnership with INRIX, the global leader in connected car services and transportation analytics, to provide contextual driving data to auto insurers to improve driver safety, customer experience, loss costs and risk modeling.

Auto insurers working with TrueMotion can now incorporate INRIX traffic, incident and road weather data into their digital programs. The addition of INRIX safety alerts enables insurers to deliver real-time driving notifications to their customers, helping them anticipate dangerous slowdowns, accidents ahead, hazardous road conditions, and other driving risks.

TrueMotion integrates this data into its patented platform and delivers it to auto insurers through an SDK for their self-serve apps or through white label apps. In addition to real-time alerts, insurance carriers can leverage this contextual road data combined with TrueMotion’s driving and distraction data to understand a driver’s true risk profile. For example, a person may drive at high speeds, but if they drive at the speed of traffic, they’re less likely to have a high rate of hard braking, a key indicator of risk. Analyzing contextual and distraction driving data together can also help carriers improve model accuracy and better forecast risk.

U.S. Bank announced a partnership with Enservio, Inc., a Solera Holdings, Inc. company, and a provider of contents claim management software, services and payments solutions for property insurers. Through this partnership U.S. Bank will utilize Enservio’s Paysurance platform to streamline a previously intricate and complex process that both insurers and customers encounter when paying or collecting a settlement.

Paysurance aids insurers in reducing the cost and time associated with processing claims, while providing clients with their settlement funds more quickly. The technology supports payments for auto, homeowner, mortgage and B2B insurers, among others.

Allianz Group’s specialist corporate insurer, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) announced a partnership with Israel-based drone safety systems company ParaZero. Founded in 2014, ParaZero specializes in designing, developing and manufacturing safety solutions for commercial Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) operators to overcome their main barrier – safety. This partnership is scheduled for initial roll out in the U.S. market followed by other regions where AGCS insures unmanned aircraft; pricing incentives and preferential conditions will be offered for those using ParaZero products.

Specifically, ParaZero’s drone safety system, SafeAir, uses an onboard computer paired with a pyrotechnic parachute launcher to enable deployment in fractions of a second upon flight malfunction. The safety package monitors key flight parameters and when critical failures are identified, a parachute and audio warning system are triggered to help protect not only the drone and the weight it can carry (payload), but also vulnerable bystanders in the area.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), commercial drone use in the U.S. grew at a rate of 150 percent with registered users going from 42,000 in 2016 to more than 110,000 in 2017. The FAA predicts that by 2022 this sector will likely be four times larger. From agriculture and film making to property surveillance and emergency response, drones are a multipurpose tool that can offer limitless support to any industry. As they have become more dynamic and sophisticated pieces of equipment over the past few years, a high-end commercial drone with attached camera equipment can cost upwards of $20,000 and can carry a payload of up to 500 lbs.

The ParaZero SafeAir recovery system has been proven to be effective across a large spectrum of emergency situations. Upon identifying flight malfunction, it deploys a parachute, stops the rotors, reduces drone speed and emits a loud notification sound to alert bystanders of the aircraft’s controlled descent; for example, the rapid descent of a large 750 lb. (350kg) drone could be stopped in approximately 30 feet (10 meters).

“Most accidents occur when a drone loses power or experiences critical flight breakdown and a pilot is limited in their options to prevent damage to the craft, surrounding area and people on the ground,” added Van Meter. “This forward-thinking partnership exemplifies our commitment to safety, client satisfaction and the exponential growth of the UAS industry.”

AGCS North America provides comprehensive hull & liability coverage for all manner of unmanned aircraft risks; it insures thousands of drone operators who use the aircraft for aerial data collection, closed set filming, delivery and public safety.