EMC Insurance, Octo partner on commercial telematics push

EMC Insurance Companies has partnered with Octo Telematics on its new commercial telematics program, Peak Fleet, the companies announced Wednesday.

Octo will provide full data and analytics support for EMC’s fleet, including a website and smart phone app--recording real-time data on fuel consumption, vehicle health, location, and driver safety. EMC’s managers will leverage the information to optimize routes, save on costs, and increase safety measures, it says.

“[Octo’s] years of expertise in insurance telematics, combined with their fleet platform and crash and claims capabilities, made them a very attractive partner and obvious choice to help us serve our commercial auto policyholders and agents,” said Scott Jean, executive vice president of finance and analytics at EMC, in a statement.

In November, Italian-based Octo launched its Octo Link Program, a cross industry network designed for the sharing of driver telematics data with insurers. Octo Link grants carriers access to more than 4.6 million Octo U subscribers' driver behavior information. Octo U is the telematics provider's flagship usage-based insurance product, launched in August 2015.

EMC joins AXA Insurance and U.K. insurer LV=Broker as Octo telematics latest insurance customers.

Juan Cristobal Cobo/Bloomberg