The Insurance Telematics Podcast: What Insurance Telematics Really Means

Welcome to Episode 2 of the Insurance Telematics Podcast! In this follow-up to our introduction, hosts Yasmin and Harald dive into what “insurance telematics” actually means, why it matters, and how it’s shaping the future of the insurance industry. Harald shares surprising insights about the term’s origin, the technology behind it, and how telematics transforms the relationship between insurers and customers.

A Quick Recap and Friendly Banter

The episode opens with Yasmin and Harald reflecting on their first recording. They joke about roles and nerves before transitioning into the main topic.

Did You Know? Harald Coined the Term “Insurance Telematics”

Harald shares an exciting revelation: he came up with the term “insurance telematics” before it was even an industry term. Dolphin Technologies owns key domains like insurancetelematics.com. He explains how this concept started and why it matters.

What is Insurance Telematics?

Insurance

• Vital to everyday life: life, health, cars, homes, pets
• Plays a major role in the economy:
  • 20% of EU government bonds are held by insurers
  • $24 trillion in global assets under management

Telematics

• Uses behavior and location data to provide real-time insights
• Enables coaching, fair pricing, and better risk management
• Transforms insurance from reactive to proactive

Why This Technology Matters

• 1.2 million people die in road accidents annually; 99% are caused by human error
• Telematics helps prevent accidents and rewards safe driving
• Adds context-sensitive customer touchpoints
• Enables personalized offers (e.g., travel insurance when arriving at an airport)

Explaining Risk Through a Game of Poker

To illustrate how traditional assumptions about drivers can be misleading, Harald uses a poker game:

• Yasmin’s hand: Queen and King = statistically good driver
• Harald’s hand: Two and Seven = statistically risky driver
• But driving behavior (represented by three table cards) tells the true story

Key point: Behavior matters more than stereotypes. Without telematics, good drivers may be penalized unfairly.

How Is the Data Collected?

Data is collected via:

• Black boxes
• Dongles
• Bluetooth tags
• Smartphones (the most scalable and cost-effective method)

Smartphones provide:

• GPS and motion sensors
• Communication interfaces
• User interaction capabilities

Beyond Auto Insurance

Harald emphasizes that telematics isn’t limited to vehicles. It can be used in:

• Health insurance (rewarding healthy behavior)
• Broader behavioral insights across insurance products

What’s Next?

In the next episode, the duo will explore Artificial Intelligence in insurance telematics:

• How AI is used
• Real-world examples
• The future of AI in risk management and customer experience

Stay tuned for Episode 3, where we’ll uncover how AI is reshaping insurance telematics and driving new innovations in the industry.

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Yasmin
Are we good?

Harald
Are you good?

Yasmin
A little bit nervous.

Harald
Yeah, yeah.

Yasmin
I thought I’d get used to it.

Harald
Did you enjoy our first episode, which was actually episode zero? So let’s say the intro to the intro.

Yasmin
Exactly, the first mile.

Harald
Yeah. It was the first mile. It was the first shot. It was our first appearance in public together.

Yasmin
Yeah.

Harald
Yeah, as a… that’s true. Anchor woman and your guest, I guess.

Yasmin
I think it’s the other way around. I mean, I’m the guest and you’re the anchor man here.

Harald
Let the audience decide who’s who. What’s important is that you are Yasmin. You’re here. You’re awesome. You’re wonderful.

Harald
And I’m Harald. And today we’re talking about?

Yasmin
Insurance telematics. So that’s the theme for episode two. I’m really looking forward to this episode because we’re going to cover really cool things, right?

Yasmin
And also play a game.

Harald
Yeah, we’ll cover it. We’ll play a game and we’ll talk about what insurance telematics is. Not only what it is, but what it actually means.

Yasmin
Yeah.

Harald
And I have to tell you a story that you didn’t know. I kept it as a surprise. You know that I came up with the name insurance telematics?

Yasmin
No, I did not know that.

Harald
Yes, it was not even an industry when we started working in this field. I can prove it because we own all the domains. If you go to insurancetelematics.com, it reroutes to our company.

Yasmin
Really? So if I check now?

Harald
If you check now. And everybody in the audience checks now. We have everything. Insurance telematics, insurancetelematic.com with the dash, without the dash.

Yasmin
Okay. Cool.

Yasmin
And drive safe and save, right?

Harald
Yeah, many people borrowed or just came up with it.

Yasmin
But you’re the OG.

Harald
Yes, I guess.

Yasmin
So, what really is insurance telematics? Where do we even start with this theme?

Harald
Let’s break it down. Since I’m the inventor of the term, I need to talk about what it means. Let’s talk about insurance. Insurance is more important than we think. It’s everywhere.

Yasmin
Yeah.

Harald
Your life is insured, your health is insured. If you have an accident or get sick, insurance companies pay. Our homes are insured, our businesses, our pets. Insurance is everywhere.

Harald
Insurance is also incredibly important in today’s economy. Do you know insurance is the biggest lender of money to economies and governments?

Yasmin
Really? Not banks?

Harald
Yes. About 20% of government stocks in the EU are held by insurance companies.

Yasmin
Wow, I had no idea.

Harald
About 12% of global assets under management are from insurance companies. That’s about 24 trillion dollars. A huge part of our economy.

Yasmin
So insurance isn’t boring. It’s massive and on the bleeding edge of tech.

Harald
Exactly. New tech brings new risks, and new risks need to be insured. Insurance is affected by climate, geopolitics, tech, behavior—everything.

Yasmin
So, the “telematics” part. What is that about?

Harald
Telematics evolved over time. But with it, insurers can now interact with customers using real-world behavior data. Normally, you never touch your insurance unless something bad happens. Telematics changes that.

Yasmin
Mmm.

Harald
If we know your location, your mobility behavior, and the environment—weather, traffic—we can provide value. We can coach safer driving and prevent risk. 1.2 million die in road accidents yearly. 99% due to human error.

Yasmin
Wow.

Harald
Telematics offers fair pricing, insights, emergency detection, risk prediction, and even personalized offers. For example, travel insurance at the airport.

Yasmin
So insurers really benefit from this?

Harald
Absolutely. More customer touchpoints, risk prevention, better relationships, and longer retention. It even boosts upselling.

Yasmin
And you’re going to show us this through a game?

Harald
Yes! Let me get my cards. Let’s play poker.

Yasmin
Okay.

Harald
You get two cards. I get two. Then we put three cards face down on the table. What do you have?

Yasmin
A queen and a king.

Harald
Good hand. So statistically, a solid choice for insurers: a 35-year-old woman, driving a safe car.

Harald
I have a two and a seven—bad hand. Let’s say a young driver in a sports car. Most insurers would avoid this risk.

Yasmin
Definitely.

Harald
But let’s reveal the three cards. Another seven, another seven, and a two. I have a full house. You have nothing. These three cards represent driving behavior.

Yasmin
Interesting.

Harald
Maybe your driver is distracted and drives a lot. My young driver might be cautious. Without telematics, they would be overcharged. Behavior matters more than assumptions.

Yasmin
Really enlightening. So how is the data collected?

Harald
Through devices: black boxes, dongles, tags, and smartphones. Smartphone telematics is my focus. It uses GPS, sensors, and interfaces to collect and send data.

Yasmin
So just by downloading an app?

Harald
Exactly. Phones have GPS, accelerometers, communication interfaces—everything needed. Plus, they can interact with users.

Yasmin
Amazing. What else?

Harald
It’s cheaper and less hassle than hardware. We can detect which car you drive using Bluetooth connections. And yes, it also works for other insurance types, like health.

Yasmin
So it’s bigger than just cars?

Harald
Absolutely. We can use the same tech to reward healthy behavior in health insurance. It’s about meaningful interaction.

Yasmin
We covered so much today. What’s coming next?

Harald
Artificial Intelligence.

Yasmin
Wow.

Harald
How we use AI in insurance telematics, with real examples.

Yasmin
AI is everywhere.

Harald
It changes how we live, work, insure. Every day brings new developments.

Yasmin
Fingers crossed we stay current!

Harald
We will. Even in the future, this episode will still hold value.

Yasmin
Thanks for listening. See you next time.