Ahead of Road Safety Week (November 19-25) local online car insurance company MCL InsureTech is set to introduce a game-changing advancement in driving safety.
MCL InsureTech, the Coleraine-based online car insurance company, recently unveiled significant reductions in driving risk factors among young motorists in the south of Ireland thanks to its effective implementation of telematics, or black box technology, within the Its4women, GetSetGo, and BoxyMo brands and, promisingly, Northern Ireland is anticipated to experience similar positive trends as it rolls the tech out here.
Explaining how the technology has altered driver behaviour Gary McClarty, Managing Director of MCL InsureTech, said:
“MCL InsureTech monitored driving data provided by some 50,000 policies, covering millions of kilometres of activity on Ireland’s roads, from 2015 to 2022. The findings were striking. The number of overall collision claims received by the company dropped by 27% over the seven years, with claims involving bodily injury specifically dropping by 48%. Telematics from the black boxes during the same period also showed that speeding events dropped by 72% per policy.”
Now MCL InsureTech hopes to reduce claims on the roads in Northern Ireland as it continues to roll the technology out across its brands here.
The most recent statistics for road accidents in Northern Ireland, according to data from the PSNI covering January to June this year, show there were 2,344 collisions recorded. There were 35 fatalities, 387 people seriously injured and a further 3,199 people slightly injured.
Although the recent statistics showed a modest decline compared to the same period in 2022, MCL InsureTech envisions making an even more significant impact on reducing these numbers in the upcoming years. This will be achieved by extending the deployment of its telematics technology to even more drivers in Northern Ireland.
Using GPS and other advanced systems, this technology transmits data about a vehicle’s driving behaviour, encompassing factors such as road speed limits, road types, and road conditions. It incentivises safe driving by monitoring the significant risk factors: speeding, driving smoothness (comprising braking, acceleration, and cornering), distance travelled, destination, and time of travel.
Gary McClarty, Managing Director of MCL InsureTech, added: “It’s no secret that young drivers have the highest number of accidents. But young drivers are not all the same. Using telematics technology, our black boxes constantly measure the big five risk factors for young drivers, alerting them to potential risks and positively influencing their driving habits.
“It’s thanks to Axon Telematics, which developed our telematics technology, that we are able to reveal these findings and we want to create awareness of how having such technology in place can help reduce accidents in Northern Ireland too.”
Mr McClarty was speaking as the UK gears up for Road Safety Week 2023, running from November 19-25, a campaign aimed at creating awareness and preventing deaths on our roads, of which there are five UK-wide every single day.
MCL InsureTech aspires to foster safer driving by educating and enlightening drivers about the available options for enhancing their driving skills including black box technology. This approach aims to reduce the likelihood of accidents, resulting in mutual benefits for drivers, passengers, fellow road users, and the broader public.
Mr McClarty continued: “Road Safety Week is a very important social awareness campaign that aims to reduce the number of road deaths in the UK and we are delighted to be able to say that our relationship with Axon, and the analytics that it provides us with, can help support that goal.
“MCL InsureTech’s high-tech offering was developed to support young drivers in getting on the road, while also allowing them access to competitive insurance that rewards safe driving.
“Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach when risk-assessing young drivers, by allowing their driving to be monitored, our customers can be treated as individuals in line with their real-world driving behaviour. It means that premiums are no longer based solely on factors such as age, but rather are informed by data from telematics technology, thus enabling significant discounts to be offered to young motorists who drive safely.”
