Apps May Reinvent Car Insurance Industry

Car insurance industry, meet potential disrupters Google and Apple. Currently, nearly all mainstream insurers that offer driver-monitoring programs use relatively expensive devices that plug into a portal under the dashboard. Usage-based insurance programs, also called telematics, are a small but growing segment of the auto insurance business. Developing Android and iPhone smartphone apps, in contrast, would cut carriers’ up-front costs when they offer telematics insurance programs, which track policyholder habits such as mileage and braking in exchange for potential savings on insurance.