092: Layered Data and the Future of Car Insurance? with Armin Kia - CEO and co-founder of Driverly

Are you intrigued by how machine learning and AI could soon transform the insurance market?

Are you starting a new business and looking for some inspiration?

In this episode of the Insurance Broker Podcast, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Armin Kia, CEO and co-founder of Driverly, a car insurance subscription service which uses machine-learning software to calculate insurance prices tailored to drivers’ individual habits behind the wheel. In this fascinating conversation with Boston Tullis’ Sarah Myerscough, Armin explains how finding a like-minded team was key to Driverly’s rapid entry to the market and expansion. Furthermore, he explains how the layering of different kinds of data simultaneously can create insurance solutions which fairly and accurately meet the needs of customers, perhaps paving the way for a future of the industry to which data is the key.

 

Quote of the Episode

“I think customers are open to sharing their data if there is a good value exchange for them. And by value exchange, I don't mean just price. Yes, price is important. But for a case like ours, where everything is built around that data, I think there's a very good reason for collecting the data.”

Driverly works by collecting data about a driver’s behaviour on the road in real time, via an app installed on the user’s phone, which is equipped with highly accurate motion sensors. With the user’s permission, this data is layered with information on weather and road conditions to create a highly accurate profile of a driver’s habits, from which a pricing structure for their car insurance can be built. In this way, the platform more fairly determines how much drivers should be paying for their insurance relative to their ability and safety behind the wheel, and it rewards them for their good driving via vouchers and discounts. Ultimately, the app demonstrates that people are willing to share their data if you can demonstrate that you will use it wisely, and to customers’ advantage and benefit.

 

Key Takeaways

In its customer-driven approach, Driverly attempts to uproot the conventional manner in which car insurance is sold by using AI and machine learning to calculate the best possible price for customers. As the car insurance market is driven by broad and often misleading demographic data which unfairly represents certain groups, especially young and new drivers, Driverly seeks to fill the gap by calculating prices individually tailored to you.

This flexibility is accentuated by its monthly subscription model. Unlike conventional annual car insurance policies, this grants customers the freedom to cancel their insurance as and when they wish. Yet, this is not only advantageous to the customer. The constant stream of real-time driving data from a user’s phone grants the company flexibility to adjust prices based on this new data as it is received.

The company was founded with three central pillars: Customer, Data, and Technology. These pillars drove the way in which new employees were onboarded, leading to the curation of a well-rounded team of enthusiastic individuals who share the same common vision. As Sarah notes in the episode, finding great people can be a business’ biggest challenge, and also its greatest achievement. Everyone has their own subjective ideas of how things should operate within a business, with their own emotional perspectives and outlooks. As such, to unite a cohesive team, particularly in such a short space of time as Driverly achieved, is a remarkable achievement.

 

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“I think putting together a team is always a challenge in the startup world. You don't have a big firm and the sort of stability that comes with it. And it's always a leap of faith; even though you're paid, and you're an employee, you're always trusting a startup when you join them.”

 

“Every single piece of data that we collect is built into the bread and butter of our proposition. So, we use that data to give something back to the customer. We give them feedback on how they drive, we show them their score, in terms of using their phone, acceleration, braking speed.”

 

“Every feature we have on the app is designed to improve the loss ratio, to improve the risk of customers having an accident, by incentivizing them, and reminding them about how they drive and giving them tips. We have a driver to club where they can compete. So, we get to take the gamification to the next level, by creating some peer pressure to improve driving behaviour as well. So, all of that is designed to improve the loss ratio and improve the claims performance.”

 

‘If data is at the core of what you do, then you design your processes, your technology, everything around it.’

 

Resources

https://www.driverly-insurance.co.uk/

 

About the Guest

Armin Kia is the CEO and co-founder of Driverly, a car insurance platform established in 2021, offering flexible prices on a monthly subscription basis. An entrepreneur making huge waves in the Insurtech world, Armin is well-placed to speak to how technology will soon, and is already, transforming the way we approach and use insurance.

Armin’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armin-kia-16951239/

 

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of marketing experience and a fresh perspective on marketing in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance brokers to offer solutions to business development ceilings, particularly in the rapidly developing fields of video marketing and thought leadership.

Website: https://bostontullis.co.uk/ 

Evaluation Link: https://s.bostontullis.co.uk/s/podcastevaluation