Laurence Pritchard gives an excellent
overview of the issues surrounding telematics standards in Europe. The European
Union is known to punish companies that take advantage of a dominant position
to obstruct interoperability – as Microsoft knows to its cost. So, if the
insurance industry doesn't get its act together on telematics interoperability,
someone could be in the firing line.
But who? There isn't a single dominant player who could be seen to be the obstruction in this market. Without standards, consumers could be locked in. But they wouldn't be locked into just one dominant supplier.
However, Pritchard warns: “There are concerns that, if insurers do not agree data standards for telematics-based products, the competition authorities could step in and force the issue.” The EU may well legislate to enable intervention even in the absence of a single dominant player.
It's clear that telematics is the way forward for car insurance. Everyone in the industry must know there's no mileage (if you'll pardon the pun) in attempting to gain customer lock-in through proprietary technology. Even if a first mover captures a large part of the market this way, they will be rapidly overtaken by a second mover offering the benefits of better, no-lock-in telematics products. The faster the industry focuses on resolving a set of standards, the faster the market will grow.
His Opinion: Telematics providers of other insurers, which would effectively lock the policyholder in to their current insurer on renewal. These issues must be addressed if telematics ... telematics-based technology in cars is by now a familiar story, linked to the European Union Gender Directive being implemented across Europe. ... Francis Abberley ... telematics ...
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