Ford Motor Company and State Farm have introduced usage-based insurance for drivers of model year 2022 and newer vehicles.
The program, Drive Safe & Save Connected Car, is being introduced in Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Oregon on or after Feb. 27, with other states in the future, excluding California, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Eligible connected vehicles, using the owner’s consent, will share telematics information directly with State Farm to allow this program, Ford said. Drive Safe & Safe Connected Car adjusts premiums based on customers’ mileage and driving behaviors.
The product seems to be a UBI form of the Drive Safe & Save program that Ford assuring Farm announced in 2022. Through that program, coded in partnership with Cambridge Mobile Telematics, drivers could permit the insurer to patch straight into 2022 and newer Ford and Lincoln vehicles to potentially receive discounts on their premiums.
“Customers can better manage their car insurance premium because their rate could be more closely associated with their personal driving characteristics,” State Farm SVP Property and Casualty Chris Schell said in a statement.
“Drive Safe & Save represents a substantial auto discount opportunity, including a preliminary 10% participation discount off major coverages. Discounts average between 10 and 15%, with even higher discounts possible depending on individual driving behaviors,” Schell said.
“Connected vehicles have the possibility to provide wonderful benefits to Ford customers, such as the ability to help lower their car insurance premiums through good driving behaviors,” Alex Purdy, Director of Business Operations, Enterprise Connectivity, Ford Motor Company, said inside a statement.
“We're excited about State Farm's approach of using Ford's built-in connectivity to provide Ford and Lincoln customers new ways to save money,” Purdy said.
Participation by OEMs to permit using their vehicles' telematics for UBI products continues to be an accelerating trend. LexisNexis announced in September that Ford would take part in its Telematics Exchange, making the automaker's connected vehicle data open to insurers for purchasers who choose to sign up.
