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HDI does the same with a telematic fee
Hanover. Car insurance with automatic driving style assessment has not been well received in Germany so far. However, Hannover’s HDI insurance company dares to try again: it recently offered its customers the option of having part of their premium refunded if they drive especially carefully. “Telematics solutions are ideal for young people to significantly reduce car insurance costs,” HDI CEO Dirk Höring promises. The so-called “DiamondDrive” option is also open to experienced drivers.
Read more after the announcement
Read more after the announcement
With the so-called telematic rates, the amount of the contribution depends on the driving style. The necessary data is recorded while driving, mainly with smartphone apps. These detect, for example, the force with which you brake. Fares have been offered in Germany for several years, but without success. Until now it has been a “niche issue”, recently judged the Finanztip consumer portal. The two biggest providers, Allianz and Huk, would only have 150,000 telematics customers together. In Italy, on the other hand, there are 7 million.
HDI advertises savings of up to 30 percent, as do other insurance companies. Driving style, time of day, speed, driving time and alertness would be assessed. The last point relates to whether you use your cell phone while driving.
Expert: Pay attention to the low basic price
Hannoversche Versicherung emphasizes that it does not evaluate the data itself, but only receives an overall “score” from a service provider. With the “DiamondDrive” app, owners of an Android or iPhone smartphone can test the technology free of charge and without obligation. “It doesn’t matter if you’re insured with HDI or not.” Telematics isn’t entirely new to HDI: customers have been able to “experience” Amazon or fuel vouchers since 2016.
Read more after the announcement
Read more after the announcement
According to Finanztip, telematics can be “quite valuable” for consumers. However, the 30 percent discounts can only be achieved with “very telematics-friendly driving.” Before switching to telematics, interested parties should also first look for a tariff with a low basic price. “Only when the cheapest rates are available, one should look to see if one of the insurers also offers telematics,” says Finanztip expert Arne Düsterhöft.
By Christian Woelbert