MetLife Expands Usage-Based Auto Insurance Program with New App to Help Drivers Stay Safer and Lower Their Rates

Business Wire

WARWICK, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MetLife Auto & Home® is expanding its usage-based auto insurance program, My Journey®, with a new smartphone app to monitor and improve its customers’ driving. Powered by technology from tech firm TrueMotion, the app utilizes the capabilities of an iOS or Android smartphone to provide drivers with quick feedback to both improve their driving and lower their auto insurance rates.

The My Journey program app automatically tracks key driving behaviors, including total miles driven, time of day, road type and conditions, hard braking and harsh acceleration, and phone-based distracted driving, in order to arrive at a score for each trip. The app does so by leveraging the sensors that are built into smartphones to continuously analyze data as the car is in motion. The app calculates and immediately displays an overall score for each trip from 1-100, with 100 being the safest possible trip. A cumulative safety score is built as time goes by.

“Today’s drivers face more distractions on the road than ever, which increases the risk of driving and puts upward pressure on car insurance rates,” noted Mick Noland, senior vice president, product management, MetLife Auto & Home. “That’s why we’ve leveraged the very latest smartphone technology to not only track drivers’ mileage to help them get the best possible rates, but also assist in keeping them and others safer on the roads. ”

Through the app, drivers can get a good idea of how they drive, as well as when and by what they are being distracted, so they can alter their behavior and become safer drivers. Drivers who enroll in the program immediately get ten percent off MetLife Auto & Home’s standard rates. After drivers spend six months in the program, MetLife Auto & Home will have enough driving data calculate a discount , and careful behavior will be rewarded with rates up to 30 percent off at the following renewal. Rates are not being increased as a result of information gathered, and the My Journey mobile app is free to those who enroll in the program.

“Our technology gives MetLife Auto & Home customers feedback that helps them become better drivers and makes the roads safer for all,” said Scott Griffith, Co-founder and Chairman of TrueMotion. “It’s a win-win and we’re proud to provide the technology that enables this app.”

The smartphone-enabled My Journey program is now available in Michigan, New Jersey, Utah, and Wisconsin, with additional states planned in the near future. MetLife Auto & Home’s My Journey Program already has a usage-based auto insurance program, using an under-dashboard device, in a dozen states to monitor driver behavior and incentivize safe driving behavior with lower rates.

About MetLife Auto & Home:

MetLife Auto & Home is one of the nation’s leading personal lines insurance groups, insuring more than 4 million autos and homes, and is affiliated with MetLife. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates ("MetLife"), is one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. Founded in 1868, MetLife is a global provider of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management. Serving approximately 100 million customers, MetLife has operations in nearly 50 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

About TrueMotion

Headquartered in Boston, Mass., TrueMotion combines the power of mobile technology, machine learning and data science to impact the rising rates of automobile crashes and fatalities. Its patented technology uses the sensors built into smartphones to accurately identify drivers and score their overall driving habits, including distracted driving. Up to 75 percent of drivers who use TrueMotion technology reduce distracted driving and other risky behaviors. The company provides an enterprise version of its technology to leading insurers, as well as free consumer apps under the TrueMotion brand. More information is available at goTrueMotion.com.