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Fourth patent related to usage-based insurance

US company Progressive Insurance has received a fourth patent for system technologies used with its optional pay-as-you-drive insurance programme, a usage-based form of car insurance. U.S. Patent No. 8,090,598 relates, in part, to producing a driver safety score based on monitored driving data. Progressive’s usage-based insurance (UBI) scheme, Snapshot, is available in 39 US states and the District of Columbia. It creates a personalised car insurance discount based on customers’ driving habits.
March 23, 2012 Read time: 1 min
US company Progressive Insurance has received a fourth patent for system technologies used with its optional pay-as-you-drive insurance programme, a usage-based form of car insurance. U.S. Patent No. 8,090,598 relates, in part, to producing a driver safety score based on monitored driving data.

Progressive’s usage-based insurance (UBI) scheme, Snapshot, is available in 39 US states and the District of Columbia. It creates a personalised car insurance discount based on customers’ driving habits. Drivers who sign up for Snapshot receive a small device that plugs into the on-board diagnostic port of cars. The device records data from the vehicle and sends it to Progressive, which uses that data to calculate potential discounts.

“For more than 15 years we have invested a great deal into the research, development, testing and piloting of usage-based insurance programmes and will continue to do so,” said Glenn Renwick, Progressive’s president and CEO.

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