General Motors' hands-free communication and vehicle safetyservice, OnStar, has partnered with Progressive Insurance tocollect driver assessment data to not only provide drivers with asnapshot of their driving habits, but also grant drivers theopportunity to seek insurance discounts from Progressive.

The new connected vehicle services will allow OnStar subscribersa chance to reenroll in a program that provides a detailed drivingassessment spanning a 90-day evaluation period. The assessment,which will be provided only to OnStar subscribers, will detailtheir driving performance in important driving metrics, and willfurther indicate how they compare against an aggregate of anonymoussubscribers also participating in the program. From there, OnStarwill provide driving tips based on areas that have potential forimprovement.

Following the assessment, qualifying subscribers can share theirdriving data and evaluation information with Progressive throughits Snapshot program. While this program is voluntary,participating customers could receive discounted and personalizedinsurance offers from Progressive based on their drivinghabits.

"Two major aspects are different with the OnStar partnershipfrom the traditional Snapshot program," says Dave Pratt generalmanager of usage-based insurance at Progressive. "The first is thata driver does not have to plug the device into his car. OnStarprovides all of the data to us at Progressive. The seconddifference is OnStar's new driver safety service. When customerssign up, they get a report of their driving habits. At that point,if a driver chooses to share their data with Progressive, we'llcalculate the quote. You'll find out how much you're saving beforecommitting to a Progressive policy." 

The program measures data including total mileage, the time ofday people drive (as late night driving is much more dangerous),and the frequency of hard breaking events, which are calculatedusing mileage and speed readings. From there, Progressive, as wellas OnStar, can show drivers the safety and impact of their generaldriving habits.

"The driving assessment is meant to help people betterunderstand how they drive and give them feedback on how to bebetter, smarter drivers. Progressive Insurance also is available toprovide interested drivers any discounts that may be available tothem based on their driving assessment," says Greg Ross, directorof business development and alliances, global connected consumerexperience for GM.

"This is the first time we can use actual driving behavior todeliver valuable important feedback to subscribers who want thisinformation. This new service truly shows the power of theconnected car."

Like the Progressive Snapshot program, the partnership withOnStar is subject to explicit customer consent. "This is avoluntary program, so you have the choice to participate. We don'tcollect any data until a customer says that they want toparticipate. We also have a separate privacy policy for Snapshot,and we don't share the data with any third parties, "Prattsays.

"The beauty of this program is that control is in the hands ofthe customer," says Ross. "If they wish to participate, we'llinform them of their driving behavior and then they're able tochoose if they want to share their information with an insuranceprovider."

According to Pratt, those who do participate will likely receivea discount. Approximately two-thirds of the people whoparticipate in the program earn a discount of about 10%, equalingan average of $150 in savings per year. Furthermore,drivers in most states will not see a rate increase, even if theirdriving history reveals some unsafe driving practices.

"We are looking beyond traditional expectations of car makersand insurance providers, toward helping people be smarter drivers,"said Pratt. "Providing drivers with feedback benefits consumers bymaking them more aware of their driving behavior, saving them moneyand keeping the roads safer. This program makes it easier than everfor consumers to take advantage of the latest in-car technology andthe leading usage-based insurance program."

OnStar currently offers subscribers Low Mileage discountsthrough other insurance companies, but these Low Mileage programsdo not require the collection or use of driver assessment data.Progressive Insurance is the first insurance company that will useOnStar data to offer these driving based-discounts. The programwill be available for all 2016 GM models, most 2015 models, andselect 2013 and 2014 models. Progressive's OnStar program isexpected to launch this summer.