Progressive's Snapshot device monitors customer driving habits, lets insurer fine-tune policy pricing. Many companies use IT to understand their customers. Progressive uses IT to learn more about people it wishes were its customers. More than 1.4 million drivers in the past two years have tried Progressive’s Snapshot program, which tracks driving habits to determine whether individuals should get insurance premium discounts and if so, how much. Snapshot allows Progressive customers to plug a small electronic device into their car’s on-board diagnostic port to report on three driving habits: hard braking, total mileage and the time of day the car is driven. Last year, Progressive launched a related product, Snapshot Test Drive, that allows drivers with insurance from competitors to use the technology for free for 30 days, to see what they would pay if they switched to Progressive. Snapshot, says CIO Ray Voelker, has “given us access to segments of the auto insurance markets that we normally did not attract.” The innovative project also earned Progressive a 2013 CIO 100 Award. The idea for Snapshot came from the IT group, where some staff members had previously worked in commercial trucking, using telematics to manage fleets. The devices can provide data on individual drivers, which could be a big advantage in an industry that relies on demographic data to set rates. But early versions of Snapshot were cumbersome, Voelker says. Customers needed technicians to install the data-collection devices in cars. Also, cell networks at the time were optimized to carry voice, not data, which made transmitting information difficult. As technologies advanced, however, the cost of the devices came down and they got simpler to use. Cell networks started to carry data more efficiently. “Customers gravitated to this very quickly,” Voelker says. Niranjan Manohar, an analyst at Frost and Sullivan, calls Snapshot a hit, crediting its plug-and-play nature for part of its success. Plus, customers can access their own Snapshot data with a variety of devices, including smartphones and tablets. Prospective customers using the trial version not only learn how much money they might save with Progressive, but they also receive tips for being a better driver. Progressive, meanwhile, gets current insights into who is a good or bad risk even before doing business with the person. Such up-front segmentation leads to higher-value policies overall, Ray says. Progressive already had most of the infrastructure needed to support Snapshot, which it patented last year, but it had to build systems to help in collecting data and analyzing it to project customer savings. Snapshot uses a service-oriented architecture (SOA) that allows its user-experience systems to retrieve and store information from the usage-based insurance and billing systems. The SOA also lets IT reuse components. Progressive developers worked with an advertising agency to design the interface and customer experience, emphasizing engagement. For example, customers can share aspects of their Snapshot experience on social networks. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline, Facebook, Google + and LinkedIn. Related content BrandPost How Infosys and Tennis Australia are harnessing technology for good By Veronica Lew Mar 26, 2023 6 mins Infosys BrandPost Retail innovation playbook: Fast, economical transformation on Microsoft Cloud For retailers, tight integration of data and systems is the antidote to a challenging economy. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 3 mins Retail Industry Digital Transformation BrandPost How retailers are empowering business transformation with TCS and Microsoft Cloud AI-powered omnichannel integration and a strong, secure digital core lets retailers innovate across four primary areas while staying compliant, maintaining security and preventing fraud. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 4 mins Retail Industry Cloud Computing BrandPost How to Build ROI from Cloud Migration This whitepaper and webcast can help you calculate the ROI and create a business case for modernizing your legacy applications to the Microsoft Cloud. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 1 min Retail Industry Cloud Computing Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe