Octo North America releases new suite of products for connected cars

Octo North America announced on Monday that it has released a suite of new telematics products for connected cars.

Octo Telematics, a London, United Kingdom-based global provider of telematics and data analytics solutions for the auto insurance industry, said in a press release that its telematics solutions are now available via both in-vehicle and mobile solutions via Octo GLIMPSE, Octo VANTAGE and Octo SURROUND. The company is continuing its North American growth, having doubled its usage-based insurance (UBI) telematics policies to over two million in North America in the last year, “further meeting the needs of insurers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico,” the release said.

The new suite includes:

• Octo GLIMPSE – a mobile solution for driving intelligence. GLIMPSE is the entry-level solution that makes it “quick and easy to get up and running with a simple mobile telematics program that offers driver behaviour, scoring and location-based services with the usage of the policyholder smartphone”;
• Octo VANTAGE – a Bluetooth solution for driving intelligence. VANTAGE is an enhanced mobile solution that utilizes the Octo mobile app, Bluetooth connection and in-vehicle device to more accurately monitor and score driver behaviour and car health while delivering location-based services with the usage of a low-cost tethered telematics device; and
• Octo SURROUND – a complete solution for driving intelligence. SURROUND is a rebrand of Octo’s legacy “UBI in a box” product Try&Drive, and is a more robust in-vehicle global system for mobile (GSM) communications solution. Not dependent on a mobile device, it offers the full suite of telematics benefits – UBI, crash & claims, driver behaviour and scoring, vehicle health and location-based services.

With actual driving data strongly influencing the predictability of whether a policyholder will have an insurance loss or not, telematics is now an important factor in the determination of insurance premium pricing and services, Octo said in the release. When compared to traditional rating variables, telematics data provides insurers with context about how a person drives, and presents insurers with the opportunity to rate risk more accurately.

Octo VANTAGE is a Bluetooth solution. Credit: Octo North America.

“Octo’s robust portfolio gives insurers the ability to offer solutions to users based on variable risks – for example, a higher risk teen driver may be offered a full telematics solution via Octo SURROUND, while a lower risk driver may be provided with Octo GLIMPSE, offering telematics through the policyholder’s smartphone,” the release said.

“Our new offerings provide more flexibility than ever for anyone to have access to a connected car and the world of important data that telematics provides in building safer roads and safer drivers around the world,” said Nino Tarantino, CEO of North America, Octo Telematics, in the release. “Our rapid growth to over two million UBI product shipments in just five years is indicative of the demand that will continue to catapult the industry.”

The products come on the heels of Octo’s June Fleet launch, a robust in-vehicle GSM solution built specifically for commercial line policyholders in North America. The solution includes the full suite of telematics benefits: UBI, crash & claims, driver behaviour and scoring, vehicle health and location-based services. Fleet adds dashboard views so commercial line policyholders can get real-time insights into their fleet and business, the release noted.

Octo Telematics was founded in 2002 and is “transforming auto insurance through behavioural, contextual and driving analytics for more than 60 insurance partners,” the company said. Octo has more than 4.6 million connected users and the largest global database of telematics data, with over 136 billion miles of driving data collected and 358,000 crashes and insurance events analyzed (as of Sept. 30). The company is headquartered in London, with offices in Boston; Rome; Stuttgart, Germany; Madrid; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.