ingenie Launches Telematics Offering

ingenie is a new online car insurance brand targeting young drivers in the United Kingdom, aged 17 to 25, who have been priced off the road by rocketing car insurance costs. Those costs have seen the 17 to 22 age bracket now paying a typical annual premium of £2,431 ($3,805), up 64 percent when compared to 2010 figures.

ingenie says it uses advanced telematics technology, fitted in the car, to assess individual driving styles, adjusting insurance premiums accordingly. This offers fairer and affordable premiums to young drivers, while encouraging and incentivizing better and safer driving.

Chris McKee is chief underwriter officer of the fledgling company, while ingenie will be led by co-founder and CEO Richard King. McKee is a former board director of Direct Line and has more than 30 years of experience in direct insurance. King has had previous start-up success in the technology/insurance sector as co-founder and executive director of Innovation Group Plc.

In line with its target market, ingenie says it will focus marketing on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other social media networks. Young drivers who take out insurance with the company are sent updates on their driving style in Twitter-style messages via the ingenie mobile application direct to their phones. The feedback information is then collated every three months and evaluated to amend the original quote.