Loop reimagines car insurance to offer fair and transparent pricing

Earlier today, TomTom announced a collaboration with Loop, a new kind of startup that’s looking to change the way we insure our cars. Not only is this potentially great news for car drivers in the US, it highlights how using traffic information, maps, and speed data is enabling us to rethink centuries old business models.

Let’s be honest, insurance is probably the least exciting part of driving. In most countries it’s a legal requirement if we’re to take to the road.

The thing is, the insurance industry is old and has remained relatively unchanged for centuries. It’s not kept pace with changes in how we drive or use our cars.

Following the industry’s age-old model, insurance premiums in the car world are calculated using demographics. Insurers consider basic information about their customers -- such as their age, gender, where they live, whether they own or rent their home and their level of schooling -- to calculate how much they should pay for insurance.

But this model is missing one crucial component: how the individual drives and uses their car. Safe drivers, those who avoid dangerous roads and act responsibly, are often penalized with high insurance premiums, even though they’re not part of a demographic that’s low risk by traditional measures. They might be an excellent driver that consistently makes safe decisions when out on the road, but that doesn’t matter in the traditional model.

This is where Loop comes in. Loop makes use of TomTom’s traffic data and map-based products to reimagine how we insure our cars, with the goal of making it fairer than it is now.

Using this data, Loop can make informed judgements about how an individual is driving and adjust their premium based on real world use. It means that insurance costs can be fairer and more transparent than ever before as they’re directly tied to how and where you drive, not where you’re from or went to university.

We’re only just scratching the surface of what’s possible here, though. Loop is showing us that by creatively using detailed maps, location technology and traffic data we can rethink business models that we have come to accept as the de facto standard for centuries.

Fleet logistics can be made more efficient, trucks can be diverted from busy streets for safety, deliveries can be made in less time, taxis can be connected to their riders ensuring they get to their destination on time. We’re just seeing the beginning of what’s possible here.

The only thing limiting how we use and apply these insights is our own imagination, and how much we dare challenge the way we’ve always done things.