How can insurance make roads safer for all?

Our roads today

Road traffic crashes are one of the leading causes of death globally. 1.25 million people are estimated to be killed on the roads each year, representing more than 3,400 deaths per day – equivalent to more than 141 deaths per hour – while another 30 to 50 million people are injured every year. Road crashes are responsible for more deaths than malaria, suicides and homicides and are the only non-disease-related cause among the ten leading causes of death ranked by the WHO.

Sharing is caring

Moving from payer to partner. As an insurer of 30 million vehicles globally, we have access to a unique set of data and expertise on road risks and solutions that may benefit our customers and society at large. By offering financial incentives or value-added services we can encourage better driving behavior, eventually saving lives.

Sharing to play a role in risk prevention. The vast majority of road traffic crashed leading to death and injuries are entirely preventable if the drivers are risk aware and subject to targeted actions. Sharing our knowledge and embedding road safety incentives in our business model, benefits our customers and the wider community, by transforming behaviors and decreasing road fatalities.

In for the ride together

A unique opportunity to provide more value to our customers. Leveraging road safety to offer customers innovative services are a strong differentiator in terms of customer experience and a lever to improve driving behavior promoting road safety for all. Providing driving services is an opportunity to build positive high frequency relationships on the long term, beyond claims.

Digitalization increases our capacity to share and interact with our customers for the good of all. Insurers can leverage and combine digital technology with their risk expertise to create innovative road safety-related services for the customers.

AXA in the front seat. In the near future, we will have the capacity of offering customers additional personalized services based on the data collected continuously, such as indicators concerning fuel efficiency, breakdown notification, vehicle diagnostics and maintenance, assessment of vehicle age and reliability, and even vehicle theft tracking. We could also offer a free coffee at the next fuel station for a travelling customer to encourage breaks during the journey. These smart features would enhance road safety, by live driving data and sending feedback with personalized advice.

Becoming a partner starting today:

• AXA in France and Luxembourg launched Garantie Joker targeting young policyholders. If the driver feels he or she should not drive because of sleep deprivation or alcohol consumption, the customer may enjoy a free taxi ride 24 hours a day to safely go home, within a radius of 70 kilometres. It has proven to be a popular service: in 2016, in France, 3,347 taxi rides were offered to AXA’s customers as part this service.
• Meanwhile, AXA Greece launched the AXA Driving Academy, which grants motor insurance premium discounts to young drivers attending the Driving Academy where they learn safe driving techniques. Drivers aged 18 to 24 years old get a 25% reduction in their annual premiums.
• Since 2008, AXA has complemented its fleet insurance products with prevention services, such as the program Driving at Work, which includes traffic regulation and driving refresher courses.
• More recently, insurers have been developing telematics offers for their fleet customers.
• The AXA Drive Coach mobile app enables the user to better understand and improve his or her driving skills. It records acceleration, braking and wheel turning level and frequency to produce an overall assessment of how the user drives and then sends useful tips on how to improve their driving practices. The AXA Drive app is available in 15 countries and has been downloaded more than 700,000 times on mobile phones and Apple Watches. Between 5,000 and 10,000 people are currently active users.

Driving our future

In the coming years, the traditional motor insurance business is likely to be heavily disrupted by the cumulative effect of new trends.

New technologies and shifts in economic development will heavily disrupt the traditional motor vehicle insurance business. Analysts forecast motor premiums to decline by 80% in some mature markets by 2040. In emerging markets, the number of registered motorized vehicles has risen by 16% between 2013 and 2015 only, promising repaid development in the near future.

New technologies will transform risks. By 2040, autonomous vehicles could lead to a 93% reduction in crashes (KPMG). It is expected that many risks will be transferred from individuals to vehicles and in-vehicle connected devices, which will involve vehicle manufacturers, technology providers and other stakeholders.

We have to accelerate business model innovation and our knowledge of the digital world. Opportunities coming from new technologies and responsible use of data related to mobility will certainly reinforce and expand our role in protecting our customers on the road, becoming a true partner.