How UBI could save the auto insurance customer experience

An auto insurer that proactively uses telematics technology to facilitate a usage-based insurance (UBI) program might not have charged the additional premium dollars in the first place that many traditional insurers ended up refunding during the COVID-19 shutdown. (Shutterstock)

Since the beginning of the global pandemic caused by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 pathogen, government-mandated or self-imposed shutdowns and shelter-in-place practices have become prevalent. This has, quite naturally, caused a dramatic shift in driving behaviors as people and organizations adapt to new employment statuses, including essential workers, work-from-home (WFH), or even unemployed.

With cars sitting idle in garages and parking lots everywhere, and as premium payments are automatically deducted monthly, policyholders are beginning to question the value in a continuous auto insurance policy. While no one is likely to turn down an offered discount or tear up a rebate check anytime soon, policyholders do appear to have mixed emotions about the recent spate of auto premium discounts being put forward due to a reduction in both miles driven and claims submitted.