Safeco announced the launch today of a new product–Teensurancepowered by Safeco–that the company claims “smoothes the rocky roadfor parents and their new teen drivers” with technology thatmonitors the youngsters' activity behind the wheel.

Seattle-based Safeco said Teensurance is available to Safecocustomers nationwide beginning today.

Teensurance bundles a suite of technology and services “designedto create a safer environment for young drivers while offering newlevels of comfort for parents,” the company said. Using a GPS-baseddevice, the Safety Beacon, and online tools, Teensurance givesparents tangible assurance about their teen's driving behavior bydelivering real-time notifications.

Safeco customers with auto insurance policies can register forTeensurance and access a secure Web portal with materials andservices designed to help them establish a safe driving plan withtheir teen, said Safeco.

“Beyond its tangible benefits, Teensurance enhances the mostimportant parenting tool: communication. By using this safetyprogram, parents and their teens are encouraged to enter into anongoing dialogue about good driving habits,” the company added.

According to Safeco, parents and their teens can agree on speed,distance, location and curfew limitations. Notification istransmitted in real time to parents' computers, home phones, cellphones or other mobile devices when agreed-upon limits areexceeded.

Teens, meanwhile, get 24/7 roadside assistance and, if they locktheir keys in the car (and it has automatic door locks), they canuse their mobile phones to remotely unlock the vehicle, the companynoted. “Most importantly, teens can prove to their parents theydrive responsibly and gain additional driving privileges,” thecompany observed.

“At Safeco, we believe the most important work we can do for ourcustomers is to help keep their families safe. People would ratherhave 'assurance' than 'insurance,'” said Paula Rosput Reynolds,president and chief executive officer of Safeco.

Safeco said that research shows motor vehicle accidents are theleading cause of death for teens in the United States.

“Teensurance offers parents peace of mind and lets them knowthey are doing all they can to keep their teen drivers safe,” saidJim Havens, vice president of customer solutions at Safeco.

Safeco said it will offer subscribers access to Teensurance'sonline services and roadside assistance for a limited-timeintroductory price of $14.99 a month. This price is guaranteed fortwo years for Safeco customers and includes free installation ofthe Safety Beacon into the teen's car.

The company also noted that only parents and their teens canaccess the driving information gathered through the Safety Beacon.“Individual driver information is not available to Safeco and willnot be used to calculate individual rates,” the company stated.

More information about Teensurance is available atwww.teensurance.com.

In similar news, American International Group announced in Aprilthat it was offering a discounted service allowing a parent toinstall a vehicle tracking device that e-mails them when theirteenage driver is speeding or straying from a predeterminedarea.

Dave Flower, national business director for WirelessInstallation Networks LLC–the parent company of Marietta, Ga.-basedMobileTeenGPS–said AIG was the first of three insurers he wasworking with to begin a limited market test.

The MobileTeen device was being offered in six states to AIGpolicyholders who have drivers aged between 15 and 17. Mr. Flowerssaid a pilot program was also being planned with Progressive fortesting in Louisiana. The third insurer was not identified.