The REAL Secret to Developing Proper and Profitable Relationships

An article by Vincent Rush

Every salesperson I speak with today talks about relationships and what a good one they have with their customers.

Granted, since the beginning of time, relationships have been the backbone of any great sales professional.

But a lot of younger sales people in today’s climate have a misconception of what a proper client relationship consists of. Ask most struggling Account Executives what they think relationships consist of and you’ll likely get answers that speak of buying lunch, delivering doughnuts or a round of golf.

The fact is, that if you want to build a PROPER and PROFITABLE client relationship, you must first understand this…your clients do not want friends…they want RESULTS!

1) You must minimize their risk! Lets face it, clients have been burned too many times by sales people who are long on promises and short on delivery. In today’s economic climate, everyone is very “Risk Adverse” when it comes to making decisions.

2) Enhance their competitive standing, both as a company and against their colleagues. Make them a hero in the eyes of their boss and you’ve done more for them that 1000 lunches and dozens of Krispy Kreme doughnuts could ever do. (OK, that last part may be a stretch)

3) Help them achieve their goals. Lets face it, all companies have the same foundational goals at heart; Increasing Profit and decreasing costs…But what about the individual goal of partnering with your client to help take his company to the next level?

Most sales people never ask the client to VIVIDLY describe the problems that they are facing and even fewer ask the client, how they themselves are affected by those very problems.

Any salesperson can gather facts and pitch feature/benefit selling, but the GREAT sales people ignite the emotions of the client and uncover what motivates them to act.

Even those sales people I meet, that are very good at uncovering the pain in a situation, use that as a trigger to launch into FAB selling.

When is the last time you heard a professional problem solver ask you, as a client;

“If you and I could find a solution to this problem, what effect do you think that would have on your company, over the next five years?” or “What would it mean to you to be able to solve this problem, once and for all?”

Even more importantly;

“If you came to your boss, with a solution that could save the company $$$$$$ a year, what would that do for your personally?

Once you help your customer accomplish these goals, you are no longer a salesperson but rather a trusted and valued PARTNER.

Vincent Rush is VP of Business Development for Lynx Telematics, a full service telematics provider that not only supplies fleet managers with the tools and education to reduce their operating expenses by nearly $2500 per vehicle on an annual basis, but helps assist managers in increasing the overall CSA scores as well as managing their telematics projects to achieve maximum return on investment.

Vincent Rush is also a professional consultant and has run multiple businesses ventures and provided career coaching and mentoring to thousands of business professionals throughout the United States.

For more information on how Lynx Telematics can assist with operational challenges and escalating operational costs, contact Vincent Rush directly at Lynx Telematics (513) 702-0495 or vrush@lynxtelematics.com

Telematics and Dealership Customer Relationship Management

From Telematics Update

Jessica Royer Ocken reports on how telematics is reinventing the customer experience

Telematicsenabled customer relationship management(CRM) has the potential to reshape OEM-dealer-driver relationships, and perhaps OEMs’ relationships with insurance companies as well. Dominique Bonte, vice president and practice director at ABI Research, describes CRM as an “umbrella platform” that allows OEMs or dealers to reach customers “more efficiently” to offer services based on their profiles.

Telecom service providers are also discovering the potential for value-added services and are taking steps to provide systems that can be put quickly into place.

Data about the status of the car, through live “real-time” diagnostics, can be of great use to a dealership looking to strengthen the Dealer-Customer relationship and provide a competitive advantage over independent auto repair shops and instant oil change stores.

Make it easy and fun

Reaping the benefits of telematics for CRM is all about technique and approach. It’s a matter of “providing advice to the driver in order to improve the way he’s managing his asset, the car itself,”

Not only can dealerships alert drivers when they need to bring their car in for maintenance, they can let them know when their tire pressure could use adjustment and why that benefits them through improved safety, more reactive brakes, and lower fuel consumption.

But the most effective CRM communications will be more than just directives and data. OEMs need to make it “easy and fun” for drivers to access data about their behavior behind the wheel.

Add an element of gaming or social networking so people can compare data and behavior or their fuel consumption. This makes it more digestible.

These ideas fall under ‘vehicle relationship management’;

Diagnostics, maintenance, and perhaps vehicle-centric firmware updates. But the larger umbrella of CRM is about a more complete experience,including offering or up selling content and apps to drivers, navigation, and better entertainment and better information.

Off-the-shelf solutions

Perhaps the biggest boon for dealerships is the fact that CRM systems don’t have to be built from scratch.

Often OEM’s, such as Lynx Telematics in Cincinnati, can adapt their existing telematics systems and “fine tune them to add a customer dimension,” A CRM system just needs access to vehicle data, which is already in place.

We use what is already existing, already tested, already successful on the market, but we have decided to reshape and reconfigure that in a different way to provide value.

Dealing with dealerships

As OEMs move into the CRM game, their relationships with dealers as well as drivers is likely to change.

Maintenance updates and scheduling are likely appreciated not only by drivers but by dealers as well, because advance notice about which vehicles are coming in for service helps them better manage their resources, including space and staff.

Right now the dealer is an important touch point for OEMs to contact customers regarding sales and maintenance as well as up selling services and apps. .

In addition, as CRM grows in popularity, other parties will be involved in communicating with customers, telematicsenabled insurance companies, for example, or TSP call centers.There’s a big risk if everyone is reaching out to the driver but not in a coordinated way. There’s a big objective to get the players working together.

For information on the value of telematics data and how positive customer relationships improve dealership ROI contact Vincent Rush at Lynx Telematics and for a tutorial on using marketing partnerships to build brands and Telematics revenue opportunities.

Re-posted by Lynx Telematics, Cincinnati, Ohio (513)-965-6318

Vincent Rush VP of Business Development and Dealer Opportunities, Cincinnati, Ohio. (513) 965-6318 or vrush@lynxtelematics.com

Safe driver? Consider telematics

By Gregory Karp of Spending Smart

Like in Lake Wobegon, the fictional place where all the children are above average, most people think they’re above-average drivers.

Of course, everybody cannot be. But today you can prove whether you are and save money in the process.

Those who are truly safe drivers — and especially those who drive very few miles — might consider new voluntary auto insurance programs that give discounts based on electronic monitoring of driving habits.

Devices attached to your vehicle can measure how many miles you drive, when you drive, how fast you go and how hard you accelerate, brake and corner. They are called ” telematic” devices, and the programs are generically termed “usage-based” or “pay-as-you-drive” insurance.

The idea is that cautious drivers who travel fewer miles should pay lower insurance premiums because they’re less likely to be in an auto accident.

However, the big downside is relinquishing privacy — allowing your insurance company to compile all that information about your driving habits.

Should you ask your auto insurance agent about installing a telematic device to get discounted premiums? Here are questions and answers to help you decide.

What is it? Typically, the insurer will mail you a small telematic device, which you install by plugging it into your car’s on-board diagnostic port (the OBD-II port), which in most cars is under the dashboard, near the steering column. Devices are generally compatible with vehicles built in the mid-1990s and later.

People might think using a telematic device is difficult, but the one from Progressive, for example, fits in the palm of your hand and is easily installed, said Richard Hutchinson, usage-based insurance business leader at Progressive. “It’s easier than people think it is,” he said. “It’s a chance to make insurance more personal.”

Devices and programs differ, but a typical telematic automatically transmits your driving data wirelessly, via wireless phone networks, to your insurer. Some insurers allow customers to view their own data on a website.

Driving data is added to the formula an insurer uses to calculate your insurance premium, along with traditional measures, such as age, gender, vehicle type and where you live.

Programs go by different names. Progressive has Snapshot, State Farm has Drive Safe & Save with In-Drive and Allstate has Drive Wise, for example.

State Farm’s program, available in 14 states and not yet aggressively marketed, can be used through General Motors’ OnStar and Ford’s Sync information services. Both record only mileage and not driving habits. Or you could join the insurer’s own Drive Safe & Save with In-Drive program for about $5 to $15 per month, which requires a separate telematic device that not only provides services — such as roadside assistance and one-touch emergency response — but can also measure such driving habits as speed, acceleration, braking and cornering.

What are the advantages? A discount on your auto insurance premium.

It makes sense that if your actual driving habits are lower risk, you should pay less — otherwise you’re essentially subsidizing high-risk drivers.

Of course, most people think they are low risk. A poll by Progressive, which has the most mature telematics program in the U.S. and is available in 42 states, showed 84 percent of drivers define their driving habits as “cautious” or “defensive.”

How big is the discount? Progressive says 70 percent of more than 1 million drivers who signed up for its Snapshot program end up paying less for their insurance, saving about $150 per year. “It’s been amazingly popular,” Hutchinson said. “We’re seeing a quarter or more of people signing up for it.”

The largest U.S. auto insurer, State Farm, claims usage-based discounts of up to 50 percent off your auto insurance. However, a more typical discount is 10 percent, State Farm spokesman Dick Luedke said.

Allstate’s Drive Wise, only available in seven states so far, claims customers could reap discounts of “up to 30 percent.” Customers get 10 percent off their first policy period just for signing up.

The good news is that if the telematic device determines you’re a lousy driver, your rates probably won’t go up. Information is generally used only to lower rates through discounts.

A side benefit: If the device helps you drive slower and eliminate rapid acceleration and braking, you’ll also save money by improving your gas mileage and spending less at the pump.

What are the disadvantages? Privacy; the Big Brother nature of the devices can be disconcerting.

“The first thing you want to look at is precisely what information the telematic device is capturing about the driver,” said Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy at the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. “The worst-case scenario is GPS (Global Positioning System capability) for location tracking.”

That’s a misconception consumers have about telematics — that they’re being tracked geographically, Progressive’s Hutchinson said. “That’s the biggest sensitivity people have with telematics,” he said. “We purposely didn’t add GPS so we don’t track that.”

State Farm, however, is an example of an insurer that can retrieve location information because its safe-driving program is part of a larger information service, similar to OnStar, that uses GPS. A spokesman said geographical data is not monitored and is not used in calculating safe-driving discounts.

GPS isn’t the only concern, however.

“If you go beyond just aggregate mileage, which perhaps is not very troubling, these devices are not only recording your driving behavior but also your social behavior,” Stephens said. For example, an insurer could notice you use the car at 11 p.m. and again when bars close. It might hint that you regularly go out drinking at night, he said. “Do you really want your insurance company to know what you’re doing with your life?”

Several insurers cite driving after 11 p.m. or midnight as a risky behavior that can affect safe-driving discounts.

Another issue is that collected data potentially becomes available for court proceedings. Stephens said it’s easy to imagine a scenario in which driving data is sought in a divorce case, especially if one wants evidence that the other is cheating.

“But the real thing we’re concerned with as privacy advocates is the slippery slope,” Stephens said. “As we see with using the Internet and using a cellphone, companies are constantly incorporating new mechanisms to do additional data collections that are far more invasive than initially contemplated by the technology.”

And no matter how safe a driver you are, miles matter. For example, Allstate’s Drive Wise discount will not apply if you drive more than 18,000 miles per year, according to the company. Driving fewer than 12,000 miles can lead to the largest savings.

“Everybody has their own threshold for what is right for them in terms of sacrificing their privacy versus saving money,” Stephens said. “If you’re the sort of individual who doesn’t care at all about that sort of thing, sure, go ahead and get the discount. On the other hand, if you’re someone who places value on keeping the things you do in your life private, you might want to give a second thought to selling your data to an insurance company for a discount.”

gkarp@tribune.com
Twitter @spendingsmart
Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune

Re-Posted by Vincent Rush, VP of Business Development for Lynx Telematics
Lynx Telematics is the Developer of the LynxSafe Teen Driving Monitor and Anti-Texting Solution for parental peace of mind.
For more information about Lynx Telematics, contact Vincent Rush directly at (513) 965-6318 or by email at vrush@lynxtelematics.com

AAA Study: Teen Drivers with Passengers are Riskier

By SARAH CRICHTON sarah.crichton@newsday.com

About one-third of all fatal car crashes are caused by speeding, but for 16- and 17-year-old drivers, the numbers rise to almost half when there are three or more passengers, according to a new study.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, according to the Federal Highway Safety Administration.

This week is National Teen Driver Safety Week, and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released its latest findings to highlight how the prevalence of risky behavior generally grows for drivers ages 16 and 17 when teen passengers are present.

For 16- and 17-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes, the analysis found:

Prevalence of speeding increased from 30 percent with no passengers to 44 percent with two and to 48 percent with three or more.

Prevalence of alcohol similarly rose from 13 percent to 17 percent and 18 percent.

The foundation analyzed data on fatal crashes in the United States from 2005 through 2010. Researchers found 9,578 drivers age 16 and 17 were involved in fatal crashes, and that 3,994 of these included at least one teen passenger. All risk factors were more common among male drivers.

New York State’s graduated driver licensing program, which took effect Sept. 1, 2003, limits teens with learner permits and junior licenses to driving only from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Nassau and Suffolk, except for limited travel to work, school and driver’s education, with proof required. It also caps the number of passengers under 21, among other restrictions.

An earlier foundation report found loud conversation and horseplay were substantially more common with multiple teen passengers than with siblings or adult passengers.

Re-posted by Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics, developers of the LynxSafe Teen Driving Monitor.

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These are some of the very reasons that we developed the LynxSafe Teen Driving Monitor.

One of the scariest days in any parent’s life is that moment you hand them the keys for their first night out on the town.

As my own Mother has often said; “I would lie awake every night, until I heard the garage door open. Only then, could I get good nights sleep!”

Actually, if Mom had known the way I was driving; those nights would have been even more restless!

After a personal family tragedy involving teen driving, I began to really think about my two children that had yet to begin the driving process and made the determination that I would not sit back and do nothing, other than say a prayer and keep my fingers crossed.

Telematics has been on the rise over the past few years and has really made a leap into mainstream public, thanks to a gal named Flo and Progressive Insurance’s product offering called “Snap Shot”

“Snap Shot” is a product that simply plugs into your vehicles diagnostic port and harvests data, based on driving habits, for the insurance company.

Known as UBI (User Based Insurance), the insurance company’s actuaries will assign a risk assessment profile to the individual driver and either slightly increase or lower premiums based on the data accumulated.

As one insurance company CEO recently remarked to me; “Telematics is to the insurance industry, what credit score was five years ago.”

Credit scores used to be accurate indicators of a drivers risk profile and predictors of the likelihood to be involved in an accident.

However, now that credit laws and new regulations on lending have changed due to the economy, many people who were previously considered “good credit profiles” are now considered marginal to poor, due to no fault of their own.

What was once an accurate indicator of risk factor for an individual driver was now becoming viewed as increasingly inaccurate?

Telematics provided a “game changer” to the insurance industry, with accurate indisputable driver profiling as a result of individual driving habits and real-time monitoring.

While this is a great product and many of the top insurance companies are now moving to a UBI model, there is still a basic flaw to me; As a parent, I want to know my kid is a bad driver….the second he is a bad driver and not…2 weeks after it’s too late, when my insurance company tells me his driver score went down 3 points.

The LynxSafe Teen Driving Monitor, by Lynx Telematics has allowed us to develop device that simply plugs into the drivers diagnostic port that allows a parent to monitor in real-time EXACTLY what their teen drivers are doing behind the wheel.

Once the LynxSafe device is installed, a parent logs onto their personal website and sets up parameters or rules, that they expect their teenager to follow when behind the wheel.

Along with rules and boundaries, a parent or loved one, chooses how they want to be notified, either by smart phone, with live map locations when violations occur, or by any internet enabled device. As for me, I like seeing on my smart phone exactly where my kid is…the moment they have broken a rule.

For example, I want to eliminate his or her ability to text and drive or browse his web enabled smart phone, I can now take full control over that deadly habit with our Anti-Texting” technology.

Next, thanks to a “Speed by Street” feature, I only want my son to drive no more than 5mph over the speed limit on any given highway or street.

With our “On Star” like capabilities, I can set up a collision alert and have the peace of mind to know that if any fender bender occurs, our 24/7 call center has already contacted my child before I even have a chance to call.

I can also set up other parameters such as excessive RPM’s, jack rabbit starts, panic breaking, cornering too hard as well as a special feature called “Boundaries”

If my son or daughter happens to be grounded and I only want to allow them to drive back and forth to school and work, I can set up a boundary that will notify me the second they leave that zone or if they cut out of school early, I will know the moment they leave the lot.

As a parent, I can also monitor specific engine diagnostics such as low fluids, mechanical glitches and head off future expensive repairs.

Or if my daughter is at the movies and leaves her lights on, I can be at home and receive an urgent alert that her battery has dipped below 12 volts thereby calling her to go start her car and avoid the potentially unsafe practice of asking a stranger in a movie parking lot at 11:30pm for assistance.

And thanks to a login screen that shows a live GPS location of where my monitored vehicle is, I now never have to hear that excuse; “Sorry Dad, my phone battery was dead.” Or “I apparently had no coverage.”

By the way, guess what car my Daughter will use for her dates!

Our goal at LynxSafe, is not to “bust” our kids and have cause to punish them rather to let them know that Mom and Dad, are still along for the ride.

As our slogan says; “They have the license, they have the keys…and now you have peace of mind!”

For more information on the LynxSafe Product by LynxTelematics, contact Vincent Rush at (513) 965-6318 or at vrush@lynxtelematics.com or visit http://lynxtelematics.com

Is telematics the cure for the ills of the insurance market?

Post Blog: The telematics white elephant

Is telematics the cure for the ills of the motor market? Or is the rise in the use of black box technology a false dawn? Greg Bannister explains.

Much has been written on the subject of telematics, its potential to help fight against fraud and the whiplash epidemic. But is it the panacea that the industry has been looking for? Or will the practicalities render it a white elephant – at least as far as claims are concerned?

While the industry’s PR machine has touted lower premiums as its main benefit, its use in the claims arena is perhaps more important to insurers. Given the fact the devices can detail the time, date, location, distance traveled, speed, acceleration/deceleration and the time spent idling a vehicle in any journey, it is easy to appreciate the value of the information in considering claims where causation or fraud is suspected or liability disputed.

But before the industry gets too excited, there are a number of logistical issues to address. How easy will it be for lawyers to apply for black box evidence from a defendant’s insurer? What data protection issues are there to overcome? How likely is it that an insurer would disclose data to a third party unless it assists their own defense?

There appears to be a reticence by insurers to disclose the information gathered and of course, the barriers are clear.

Nobody likes unilateral disclosure and the issue here is only one side will have the data to prove or disprove a claim. The temptation to only disclose when favorable is understandable, but a court’s likely view of this action needs careful consideration.

Data protection is rightfully of utmost concern for telematics insurance providers however, with the Insurance Fraud Bureau estimating motor insurance fraud costs running at $4 Million per week, all available weapons to defeat the fraudsters must be considered.

Telematics-based motor insurance products are sold on the basis that utmost care will be taken with the data collated, including that the information will not be passed on to the prosecuting authorities when an offense is detected, such as a breach of the speed limit.

The holders of the data have a duty under the Data Protection Act to use the information “fairly and lawfully” and so in reality, whilst a proactive report to the police will clearly not be made, where the police are investigating a crime then there will be a duty to disclose the information. Similarly, where insurance fraud is reasonably suspected, a defendant will be able to apply for release of the relevant data under the Act.

So how can the industry overcome the barriers to ensure that its customers are treated fairly an the industry itself can harness the power of the data to combat fraud?

The ideal scenario is that drivers are told that telematics data will be disclosed. There are clear benefits to this approach, it provides certainty for the insurer as fault claims will be settled at the earliest opportunity, reducing its costs.

Equally important, disputes and suspected fraud cases will be vigorously fought with the benefit of this scientific data, increasing the prospects of success. And to ‘sell’ it to the customer, perhaps greater transparency is required regarding the impact of fraud on motor premiums and how disclosure of telematics data can help fight the good fight?

If people can be persuaded of the merit in being careful, but not overly protective of their data as well as their driving, then it really could be a case of fraudsters beware.

Greg Bannister, Technical Assurance Manager for Motor, Questgates

Re-posted by Vincent Rush of VP of Business Development for Lynx Telematics.

Lynx Telematics is a Cincinnati based OEM of Telematic technology and provider of the Geo Tab product along with patented “Anti Texting and Web Browsing” technology for fleet based companies.

Lynx Telematics is also the innovator and pioneer of the Lynx Safe Teen Driving Monitor that grants parents real-time data on their teenagers driving habits while blocking and disabling texting and driving.

For more information, contact Vincent Rush at (513) 965-6318 or by email at vrush@lynxtelematics.com

Know Your Money, Sees Huge Increase in Telematics Car Insurance Traffic

Leading financial comparison website witnesses sustained 70% increase in month-on-month searches – Research finds that number of telematics car insurance companies in the market also growing significantly, and more than 210,000 policies have been sold

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, Sep 04, 2012
Know Your Money – a leading financial comparison and advice website – has registered a 70% month-on-month increase in traffic for telematics car insurance policies.

With telematics car insurance – sometimes known as ‘black box’ insurance – a device is installed into a customer’s car which monitors the way that they drive. Those that drive safely are rewarded with cheaper policies.

Know Your Money’s increases in search numbers for the product have been sustained at steady rate of growth between March and August 2012, with 70% representing the average monthly increase during that period.

In response, Know Your Money has polled the insurance companies that offer telematics car insurance in the UK and can reveal that more than 210,000 policies have been sold to date. Though the first UK telematics products were tested in the market as early as 2006, more than half of the total policies have been taken out over the last year, since mid-2011.

The number of companies that offer the product has also grown considerably. Though the providers are generally specialist companies, the market is now a third bigger than at the beginning of this year and more of the traditional insurers are beginning to offer telematics. In addition, the growth is expected to continue to rise dramatically over the next five years. So much so, that the product could account for more than half of all car insurance policies by 2017, according to some companies’ estimates.

Supporters of telematics car insurance say that the product answers two problems. As well as lower premiums, especially for young people, it is predicted that the development will lead to much safer roads, since drivers will be more careful in order to get the cheapest prices.

With this in mind, Know Your Money joint founder Jason Tassie said he was pleased to witness the upwards trends.
He commented: “The growth in interest for telematics insurance products has been explosive so far this year. It’s something that we’re delighted to see here at Know Your Money.

“Rising car insurance policies have priced many young people out of the market in recent years and it is unfair to punish the majority because of the actions of the few. Telematics car insurance policies have been proven to reduce car insurance costs significantly for young people and the early evidence suggests that road safety will improve too. We therefore see telematics as very much a product that is in line with our values as a consumer champion in the finance market.”

Rassam Fakour-Zaker, editor at Know Your Money, added:

“Black box insurance products have been developing over the last few years but up until now take up has been slow. However, as well as the increase in traffic to our website we’ve had lots of requests from our audience for the latest products and tips on how to buy telematics insurance. It looks like 2012 will go down in history as the year that black box cover takes its place as a mainstream insurance product.”

How it works

To get cheaper rates on their car insurance, telematics policy holders must drive to a number of standards. Their average speed, how much they drive and where, their breaking habits and how fast they go round corners will all be transmitted back to the insurer by the device. The company will then analyze the data to decide how much the customer pays.

To help customers improve their driving, telematics insurers will also present each customer with an analysis of their own performance. This information is made available via the Internet or is sent via text messages, allowing the customer to make interventions where necessary. Systematic price reviews are then carried out at monthly or quarterly intervals for each customer.

The policy also comes with the added bonus that if the car is stolen the telematics device will be able to pinpoint where it is.

A round-up of other statistics on telematics car insurance:

1500% – the growth in the telematics market since 2009 (British Insurance Brokers’ Association)
57% – The number of drivers that expect to switch to telematics car insurance by 2017 (research commissioned by GoCompare)
20% – The amount that road accidents could be reduced by through telematics insurance (Norwich Union – now Aviva)
92% – The number of drivers who back prices to be decided by the way that they drive (research commissioned by GoCompare)
26% – The number of drivers that are involved in a collision within two years of passing their test (AA/Populus survey)

As well as covering a wide range of banking and insurance products within its comparison tables, Know Your Money serves its audience with a portfolio of straight talking guides, industry updates and offers for high street shops and restaurants.
The Know Your Money Telematics Car Insurance Guide is available by clicking here: http://www.knowyourmoney.co.uk/telemetric-car-insurance-guide/ .

The Know Your Money review for the car insurance comparison site, Go Compare is available here: http://www.knowyourmoney.co.uk/go-compare/ .

About us:
At Know Your Money our remit is to help our users make informed decisions when purchasing or applying for financial products.
Through our product comparison tables and straight-talking guides, we help people to find suitable and affordable products that will stand them in good stead for the unknown financial demands of the future. The range of products we cover accounts for all major banking, insurance and utilities products.

Since launching in 2005, Know Your Money has grown to over 300,000 unique visitors every month, with more than 50,000 opted-in recipients of our weekly e-newsletter.

Re-posted by Vincent Rush of VP of Business Development for Lynx Telematics.

Lynx Telematics is a Cincinnati based OEM of Telematic technology and provider of the Geo Tab product along with patented “Anti Texting and Web Browsing” technology for fleet based companies.

Lynx Telematics is also the innovator and pioneer of the Lynx Safe Teen Driving Monitor that grants parents real-time data on their teenagers driving habits while blocking and disabling texting and driving.

For more information, contact Vincent Rush at (513) 965-6318 or by email at vrush@lynxtelematics.com

Telematics – Can you afford NOT…to have it in your vehicles?

Monday 6 August 2012. Fleet Voice Column. by Alisdair Suttie

How far would you go to save fuel?

According to research by ALD Automotive, around nine out of 10 drivers in the UK would be happy to have telematics fitted to their car to help cut fuel bills.

As fleets have ever more pressure applied to them to reduce fuel costs and emissions, finding ways to make cars and drivers more efficient is essential. This is a more accessible and quicker to implement solution, too, than simply replacing a fleet with newer, more economical vehicles.

Managing Director of ALD Automotive, Keith Allen, says: “Over the last seven years, the technology surrounding telematics has improved and evolved dramatically.

“It now delivers a functionality that can help businesses better manage the costs and risks associated with their fleets. Drivers are also now far more aware of what telematics are and how they can help, benefiting themselves and their employers.”

By monitoring the data of individual drivers, fleet managers can not only work out how to best improve the efficiency of that user, but also the car itself. The fleet manager can also build up a detailed picture of overall fleet performance, whether that means using different vehicles for specific roles or deciding on driver training.

Not Big Brother

ALD’s Keith Allen is quick to assure drivers this is not a Big Brother operation to spy on company drivers, but it is a chance for all concerned to get the best from themselves and the vehicle.

This type of technology has been in use for some time, notably in larger commercial vehicles as a supplementary system to the existing tachograph and for young drivers keen to cut their insurance premiums.

With the spread of the technology to the wider fleet business, there is a chance for company drivers to show they are among the safest and most considerate on the road. The popular image of a stressed-out, mobile phone-wielding road rage incident in waiting is very far from the truth as we all adhere to health and safety guidelines and remember corporate manslaughter legislation. Yet, the public perception of company drivers is closer to that popping blood vessel behind the wheel of urban myth.

Introducing telematics to the wider company car fleet, can only help stamp out the last remaining examples of such bad driving that brand us all with the same iron.

Younger drivers

Talking about the use of telematics for younger drivers, Simon Douglas of the AAa says: “Telematics can help moderate driver behavior and ensure young drivers are more likely to drive safely rather than roar around in their cars”

Douglas also talks about telematics’ advantages for the wider driving community and points out that anyone who is afraid of having such a device fitted is possibly just the sort of driver who needs it most. If you drive responsibly, why should you fear having your driving habits recorded?

This raises the question of personal freedom and the associated liberties and laws that go with it. However, simple telematics that tell a fleet manager where a car is, the duration of its use and fuel consumption need not spark concern among business drivers.

It is tacitly acknowledged that many drivers exceed the speed limit regularly but not excessively. If this behavior is moderated by fitting telematics, that is a boon to a fleet’s safety record, especially if this speeding is in town or areas where there are lower speed limits in force.

If the telematics identify a particular driver has little regard for speed limits or the places where he or she speeds, such as near schools or in heavily inhabited areas, then it’s a chance to offer further training and education to that individual.

Equally, telematics can also offer an element of praise for those drivers who get the best economy from their car through safe, correct driving techniques. As has been seen in studies in the USA, by making good driving habits and standards a competition between those in a company or organization, often it is the previously worst offenders who rise to the top as the standard bearers for better driving.

Greater role

The competitive element appeals to many drivers natures, even those who are otherwise placid souls outside of the car. Behind the wheel, many people change their attitudes as they are ensconced in a steel box that becomes their personal fiefdom.

By adding telematics into the mix, it makes these drivers more aware there is a world beyond their windscreen and they have to be part of it in a responsible, courteous and safe manner.

Trials of telematics have shown individual drivers can save as much as 25% in fuel spent without noticing any great shift in their driving. Apply this across the whole of the countries company car fleets and the savings run into the billions of dollars per year. Those are savings we’d all like to see on a bottom line, recession or no recession.

With the vast majority of fleet drivers now open to the idea of telematics being fitted to their vehicle, and with the cost of installing such technology now dropping to very affordable levels, the question we ask ourselves must surely change. It has to shift from “Do we want telematics in our vehicles”? to “Can we afford not to have telematics in our vehicles”?

Such a fundamental change in attitudes and approach may seem radical or even unlikely to some, but look at the great changes that have happened in the recent past we now all accept as the norm: diesel is the predominant fuel for company car drivers, carbon dioxide-based taxation, and hybrid technology being used on ever more cars.

But have no doubt, telematics will play a much greater role in all of our working lives behind the wheel of a car very soon. Not only will it save companies money, it could positively help to reduce stress for business users as time limits can be more appropriately enforced and safety improved as a result.

Another spin-off benefit of telematics in a vehicle is, should the worst happen and you’re involved in a collision, the technology will be able to establish liability more easily and save a great deal of red tape and form-filling by innocent parties.

Just think: technology that actually saves on paper work.That really is a future worth dreaming of.

Re-Posted by Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics

For more information, contact Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics at (513) 965-6318

For more information on how Lynx Telematics, an OEM located in Cincinnati, Ohio can help your fleet become more operationally efficient or custom design a solution to meet your fleet management needs, contact Vincent Rush at (866) 314-0461

Lynx Telematics is an OEM that controls design, engineering, firmware, software development, IT support and manufacturing processes of our product, allowing us to produce the highest quality product in our industry, while offering our customers competitive pricing.

As your partner, we provide ongoing training and support to insure that the product is properly sold to the end user, maximizing the re-sellers profitability.

As one of the pioneers in telematics technologies, Lynx Telematics provides our clients with powerful end-to-end vehicle telematics tools. Our technology offers a real solution that delivers safety, saves money and provides an unprecedented level of peace of mind to our customers.

Our product, LynxSafe, is the newest and most advanced in-vehicle communication system currently on the market. It combines GPS/satellite and GSM cellular technology to provide users and family members with immediate access to real-time information delivered directly via any internet enabled device including I Phone and Android smart phones.

Crash survivor preaches dangers of texting while driving

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/crash-survivor-preaches-dangers-texting-while-driving-132609321.html

 

By Ron Recinto | The Lookout – Fri, Aug 3, 2012

Chance Bothe knows firsthand the dangers of texting and driving.

The Texas man typed this message to a friend while driving home from college earlier this year, “I need to quit texting because I could die in a car accident and then how would you feel …”

A few seconds later, Bothe’s pickup veered off a bridge and dropped down a 35-foot-deep ravine.

KHOU-TV reports he suffered extensive injuries including a broken neck, a punctured lung, and a fractured face, which would later require extensive reconstruction. He had to learn to walk again, the station reports.

“I’m very lucky that I’m not gone forever,” Bothe, 21, told KHOU-TV on his last day of a six-month rehabilitation in Houston. “I still have things to do in this world.”

 

One of the first things he’s doing is spreading the word of the dangers of texting and driving.

“They just need to understand, don’t do it. Don’t do it. It’s not worth losing your life,” he said. “I went to my grandmother’s funeral not long ago. And I kept thinking, it kept jumping into my head: ‘I’m surprised that’s not me in that casket.’ I came very close to that. To being gone forever.”

Texting while driving is banned in 39 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Texas does not have a statewide ban on texting while driving. However texting while driving is banned in some municipalities and school zones in the state.

Bothe promised to spread the word about the dangers of texting while behind the wheel so that others can learn from his mistake.

“What people have told me is the reason God didn’t keep you away from this Earth is because you have something special to do,” he told KHOU. And I believe what is special is that I should tell everyone not to text message and drive.”

Re-posted by Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics

Insurer: Letting us spy on your driving cuts premiums!

By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

If you thought devices that voluntarily spy on your driving might be a passing fad, think again: One big insurer says it’s finding that such systems are more than two-and-a-half times as good as traditional methods at predicting accidents.

Progressive Insurance just released a finding based on the program it introduced a year go that finds “loss costs” for the drivers with the highest-risk driving behaviors are about two and a half times higher than those for drivers with the lowest-risk behavior.

Though it has tried “usage-based” insurance programs for years, Progressive introduced a system called Snapshot last year in which drivers are sent a small device that plugs into their cars and relays information about their driving habits. The insurer says it measures the time of day the car is driven, distance driven, and how many hard brakes per mile the driver makes. Other insurers, such as State Farm and GMAC, also have similar programs.

As a result, Progressive says it has found that 70% of drivers who have signed up for its Snapshot program pay less for their insurance than they did before the program began:

They are saving an average of $150 a year. It’s offering to let any driver give the program a 30-day tryout, not just its own customers, to see if they will save money in the 42 states in which it is offered. Progressive officials say they want to prove that good drivers are paying unnecessarily high premiums based on the risk they present to insurers.

“For most, the rates they’re paying are higher than the risk they actually present –- and in many cases, much higher,” says Progressive CEO Glenn Renwick in a statement.

Re-posted by Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics

Insurance companies want to take the lead in marketing and managing UBI services. It makes sense since they already have familiar brands as well as the customer base. Most important, they are the ones with relationships with state regulators, keeping track of the myriad regulations and requirements of individual states.

A Company in Cincinnati, Lynx Telematics has developed a device called the Lynx Safe Teen Driving Monitor that can not only provide insurance companies with a UBI telematics device, but is the first of its kind to give parents “real-time” parental control and live monitoring of their teens driving habits, while at the same time, preventing texting and driving.

Vincent Rush, President of Business Development for Lynx Telematics, commented in Nashville recently that, “While we realize that quality and integrity of data is paramount in the UBI market, we also saw a gigantic void. Many insurance companies have the programs, however parents really have no control over their children’s driving habits, until the company reports back to them. We wanted to bring, not only savings to a parent, but peace of mind as well. As a parent, I don’t want to receive a report about my kids poor driving habits, 3 days after their funeral. I want to know the instant my teen is getting careless. I’ve already had one personal experience and I don’t care to have another”

With the LynxSafe telematic device, Mom & Dad are now, figuratively in the front passenger seat with their teen driver from the moment they pull out of the driveway”. Rush went on to say that, “Our single user interface model allows Mom and Dad to set parameters as well as receiving immediate text alert and emails when their son or daughter is speeding, driving radically, or in any type of accident as well as experiencing any mechanical break down.”

For more information on the LynxSafe Device and Lynx Telematics, contact Vincent Rush at (513) 965-6318 or vrush@lynxtelematics.com

Telematics and Customized UBI Business Models

Susan Kuchinskas looks at open niches within the lucrative UBI space

According to Towers Watson research, insurers representing 60 percent of the personal auto insurance market have implemented a version of a UBI program in at least one state. Many more are running or preparing to run internal UBI pilots. And Ptolemus Group forecasts more than 100 million vehicles will be insured with telematics globally by 2020, generating premiums of approximately $60 billion.

The advantages for consumers and insurers are clear: More accurate ratings of risk factors will lead to lower claims and lower premiums for safe drivers. Technical barriers to these offerings are minimal, but the industry will need to appease consumers and regulators.

Pay-as-you-drive solutions

Many US insurers offer pay-as-you-drive (PAYD), also called usage-based insurance (UBI). This option is available in the majority of states. These plans use a plug-in device to measure actual miles driven: The less you drive, the less you pay for insurance.

Progressive’s PAYD program, SnapShot, provides a free device that drivers plug into their cars for six months; after that, they send it back and the rate based on miles driven is finalized. State Farm’s Drive Safe & Save program uses OnStar to validate mileage, and it just inked a similar deal to let consumers transmit mileage info via Ford Sync.

Because insurance rates have long used driver-reported mileage as one rating factor for evaluating risk and setting rates, PAYD is a relatively easy product to get approved by state regulators. Each state in the US regulates auto insurance independently. (For more on US state regulation, see Insurance telematics: US state regulators tackle UBI [2].) It also makes sense to consumers, because they’re used to this metric. And it doesn’t raise privacy concerns.

Pay-how-you-drive schemes

Things get more interesting, and potentially more lucrative, when insurers use additional ratings factors that allow them to better calculate an individual driver’s risk. Telematics devices incorporating accelerometers and other sensors can provide accurate information about driving style that could impact a consumer’s risk profile. So-called pay-how-you-drive (PHYD) schemes use a variety of factors, including speed, time of day, braking, acceleration and cornering, to paint a more accurate picture.

State Farm’s PHYD plan is called In-Drive, and it uses a device created by Hughes Telematics. In-Drive has rolled out in Illinois and Utah, with more states in the offing. “Obviously, mileage is a good predictor,” says Dick Luedke, spokesman for State Farm. “The more miles you drive, the more likely it is you’re going to file a claim.”

State Farm did quite a bit of testing to find what other factors would be most useful for rating an individual’s risk by installing the devices in the cars of associates across the nation. The secret sauce, of course, is the algorithm each insurer uses to weigh all these factors. Each firm guards them as trade secrets. Luedke says drily, “I doubt we’d be too specific.”

Simply gathering data from telematics devices is not that difficult. Doug VanDagens, director, Connected Services Solutions at Ford Motor Company, says that, while the agreement with State Farm calls for only transmitting mileage information, Ford already can technically accommodate transmission of any metric needed for PHYD. In fact, Ford’s Crew Chief product for fleets, powered by Telogis, provides information on braking, acceleration, maintenance warnings and more.

“Anything happening in the vehicle, we can communicate outside of it,” VanDagens says. It’s easier and cheaper to do so via Sync, he points out, because Sync uses the driver’s cell phone for connectivity. “We can provide all of that relatively easily, as soon as insurance companies want to set up the programs.”

Insurance companies want to take the lead in marketing and managing UBI services. It makes sense since they already have familiar brands as well as the customer base. Most important, they are the ones with relationships with state regulators, keeping track of the myriad regulations and requirements of individual states.

A Company in Cincinnati, Lynx Telematics has developed a device called the Lynx Safe Teen Driving Monitor that can not only provide insurance companies with a UBI telematics device, but is the first of its kind to give parents “real-time” parental control and live monitoring of their teens driving habits, while at the same time, preventing texting and driving.

Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics discusses the LynxSafe Teen Driving Monitor

Vincent Rush, President of Business Development for Lynx Telematics, commented in Nashville recently that, “While we realize that quality and integrity of data is paramount in the UBI market, we also saw a gigantic void. Many insurance companies have the programs, however parents really have no control over their children’s driving habits, until the company reports back to them. We wanted to bring, not only savings to a parent, but peace of mind as well. As a parent, I don’t want to receive a report about my kids poor driving habits, 3 days after their funeral. I want to know the instant my teen is getting careless. I’ve already had one personal experience and I don’t care to have another”

With the LynxSafe telematic device, Mom & Dad are now, figuratively in the front passenger seat with their teen driver from the moment they pull out of the driveway”. Rush went on to say that, “Our single user interface model allows Mom and Dad to set parameters as well as receiving immediate text alert and emails when their son or daughter is speeding, driving radically, or in any type of accident as well as experiencing any mechanical break down.”

The manage-how-you-drive model

As consumers get more comfortable with these products, they may shrug off the Big Brother warnings and embrace the manage-how-you-drive (MHYD) model. With MHYD, drivers get feedback that helps them improve and potentially lower their rates.

American Family Insurance says its Teen Safe Driver Program has helped teens reduce risky driving behaviors by 70 percent. The program includes a free in-car device attached to the review mirror. When incidents like extreme braking, cornering, and accelerating too fast—as well as actual crashes—take place, it saves eight seconds of footage prior to the mishap and the four seconds after it. The information is transmitted wirelessly to American Family’s data center for review by driver coaches.

Parents get a weekly driver report card that measures the teen’s performance against safe driving objectives and peer averages. They can log in to see the report, watch video of incidents, and get tips for safer driving that they can share with the kid.

State Farm’s In-Drive, created by Hughes Telematics and currently offered only in the US states of Utah and Illinois, provides an entrée for State Farm into stronger customer relationships and value-added services competitive with OnStar and motor clubs. It offers one-touch emergency response, roadside assistance, stolen vehicle location assistance, vehicle diagnostic alerts and maintenance reminders, plus parental monitoring tools for location services and speed alerts.

It also includes the MHYD program, Drive Safe & Save. In-Drive will provide driving performance data, and the customer’s savings will be based on mileage, turns, acceleration, braking, speed and time of day vehicle is operated.

New revenue streams

While State Farm will provide discounts on rates of up to 50 percent for the safest, lowest-mileage consumers, In-Drive also represents an opportunity for new, recurring revenue streams. The service offers four subscription levels with additional services like stolen vehicle assistance, emergency calling and alerts for events like speeding, with subscription fees from $7 to $22 per month.

Tim Moroney, insurance regulatory attorney with the law firm of Barger & Wolen LLP, thinks these services can help insurers get off the rate-cutting treadmill. “Personalized automotive insurance is very competitive,” Moroney says. “While cheaper premiums are usually the biggest hook, [by coupling services with telematics] you can offer more things. Insurers are now offering concierge benefits. They can do all things automotive and be very creative.”

Insurers could take it even further by offering classes, content, applications and third-party offers. The strategy could be similar to that used by health maintenance organizations that provide weight-loss and smoking cessation classes to members. (For more on new sources of revenue, see Consumers and UBI: The power of value-added services [3] and Telematics and UBI: How to increase consumer acceptance [4].)

Says Frederic Bruneteau, managing director of Ptolemus Consulting Group, “Thanks to insurance telematics, the insurer can become an insurance service provider. Today, the notion of insurance is, ‘They take your money and then you hear from them if you have a problem.’ With telematics, they have a real-time relationship with any policy holder.”

Susan Kuchinskasis a regular contributor to TU.