Borrowing from a successful European business model, Liberty Mutual Insurance has partnered with GE and US Bank to provide turn-key fleet management solutions. This should help companies increase fleet safety & productivity, and reduce commercial auto insurance premiums. According to Thomas M. Troy, COO of Liberty Mutual Agency Markets’ Regional Companies Group, the Onboard Advisor “is the first GPS-based product to harness multiple technologies to yield direct, measurable savings as well as significant insurance discounts”
. Although this sentiment is not unique — Progressive Insurance made a similar claim — the business arrangement between these companies is.
In an exclusive interview with Mike Slattery, the architect of Onboard Advisor, Telematics Weekly learned this product was first designed for Safeco Insurance’s “Teensurance” program to monitor teenage driving habits. Prior to release, Safeco received requests for a similar commercial fleets device. After Liberty Mutual’s acquisition of Safeco for $6.2 billion, this project received continued internal support.
Liberty Mutual found a valuable partner in GE. With a Commercial Financial division that can no longer compete in this economy, GE is retooling to creating a suite of telematics products and services that take advantage of the analytic data their Commercial Financial division has accumulated. Although it is strange to think of GE as a start-up company, in this case they really are. With borrowed hardware from Hughes Telematics and a 2-week training program GE has committed themselves to selling 90,000 units before year’s end and assumed substantial liability for this particular offering.
According to Mr. Slattery, Liberty Mutual demanded a low monthly premium for the Onboard Advisor product which would appeal to their customers. Hardware, warranty, integration, servicing, sales assistance and carrier costs are the responsibility of GE, not Liberty Mutual. Although US Bank is providing the gas card, it is obvious that GE’s ability to meet these commitments will ultimately determine their success in this endeavor.