Small business owners are often looking for ways to optimize their operations and reduce expenses. This is particularly true at a time when many companies are continuing to grapple with the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdowns that have hampered business. Progressive Insurance recently launched a usage-based insurance (UBI) and fleet management program for business owners that can help small business owners with commercial vehicles address some of the challenges. The program, called Snapshot ProView, is a fleet management tool that enables companies to manage their fleets more effectively and save money on insurance. Customers who sign up for the program save a minimum of 5 percent on their Progressive Commercial Auto policy for their initial term, and have the potential to save up to 18 percent annually.
Progressive's previous foray into commercial telematics was
DI: What are some of the unique features and capabilities of Snapshot ProView?
Arora: Snapshot ProView’s Fleet Dashboard is something we at Progressive are really excited about. The Fleet Dashboard gives businesses with three or more vehicles a suite of time and money saving tools to manage their fleet and gain valuable insights about their driving, including near real-time vehicle tracking, individual vehicle safety scorecards, and geo-fencing notifications—all at no extra cost.
DI: Which market challenges is the solution designed to address, and how?
Arora: Progressive is constantly looking for ways to provide better products and service to our customers. Snapshot ProView empowers business owners to participate in reducing their insurance cost by practicing and encouraging safer driver habits. After a year where many faced challenges posed by the pandemic, small business owners are looking for ways to optimize operations and save money now more than ever. Through Snapshot ProView, Progressive introduces another way for small business owners with commercial vehicles to do just that, while building upon our existing Snapshot offering.
DI: What do you see as some of the business use cases for the new platform?
Arora: Any Progressive Commercial Auto customer not required by federal law to have an ELD [electronic logging device] and operating in a state where Snapshot ProView is available is eligible for the platform, opening up the opportunity for a multitude of different businesses to utilize Snapshot ProView to reduce insurance rates by practicing safer driving—including, but not limited to, contractors, towing companies, and more. Customers who sign up for the program save a minimum of 5 percent on their Progressive Commercial Auto policy for their initial term and have the potential to save up to 18 percent annually.
DI: What are the key technology components behind the product, and what sort of data is collected from customers?
Arora: Progressive provides devices free of charge for each vehicle and ships it to the customer for installation. The customer then installs the devices themselves by plugging into each vehicle’s diagnostic port. Plugging in the device is easy. Devices then transmit data wirelessly to our service provider and they then make the data available to Progressive Commercial. Data collected includes vehicle speed and time information, vehicle identification number, GPS location, vehicle diagnostic information, as well as when the device is connected and disconnected from the vehicle. Other information, such as miles driven and rates of acceleration and braking, is derived from the speed and time information recorded by the device. There are several safeguards in place that protect personal information, including driving information, for all Progressive customers.
DI: How does Snapshot ProView fit in with Progressive’s other products in this market?
Arora: Snapshot ProView is the latest installment of Progressive’s Snapshot offering, designed to cater to our commercial lines customers not eligible for our Smart Haul offering. Snapshot ProView is available to our Business Auto, Contractor, and Tow customers—who are not eligible for Smart Haul—as well as For-Hire Specialty (for example, dirt, sand and gravel, logging, etc.) and For-Hire Transportation risks not required to have an ELD.
DI: What is the overall outlook for the use of telematics for insurance purposes?
Arora: The use of telematics data in the commercial auto space is very exciting, and we see a lot of opportunity to understand more about commercial vehicle usage for underwriting applications and fleet management. We believe in segmentation in the insurance industry, and work hard to provide the most accurate rates for our customers. UBI programs such as Snapshot ProView empower business owners to participate in reducing their insurance cost by practicing and encouraging safer driver habits. And the addition of a fleet management tool can help businesses work smarter, find inefficiencies in their business, and help business owners coach and encourage driver safety.
