Today, Mercury Insurance announced that the company has made its usage-based insurance app, MercuryGO, available to drivers in Oklahoma to help improve driving skills and traffic safety.
The app acts as a virtual driving coach, providing skill scores that give real-time feedback about driving behavior. Mercury auto insurance policyholders who enroll to use the app immediately receive a 5% participation discount and teen drivers will receive up to a 10% discount.
Then, when MercuryGO customers renew their policies, they could receive a discount of up to 40%, depending upon their driving score.
“Driving safety is a very important issue for Mercury and we continually look for ways to help educate drivers of all ages on the importance of being alert behind the wheel, while also equipping them with the skills to avoid potentially dangerous driving behaviors,” said Mercury Insurance Customer Service Project Manager Sherrie Schreck. “Most auto collisions are preventable, so MercuryGO is a simple way to help keep drivers focused on their main task and, as a result, reduce fatalities and serious injuries. Plus, they could also end up saving a lot of money with this program.”
The Oklahoma Highway Safety Office reports there were 640 motor vehicle traffic fatalities and 8,646 crashes were caused by distracted drivers in 2019.
The MercuryGO app generates a driving skill score, which is calculated based on categories that are closely correlated with car crashes: excessive speeding, hard braking, distracted driving (i.e., phone motion and screen interaction), and road type.
Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), Mercury’s technology partner, is the world’s largest smartphone telematics provider, winning multiple awards. CMT is the pioneer of: usage-based insurance with smartphones (in 2012); the measurement of phone distraction (2013); behavior-based insurance (2014); and real-time crash alerts with roadside assistance (2015).
“Mercury Insurance is utilizing the DriveWell platform to help drivers reduce distracted driving, speeding, and hard braking by keeping them engaged and providing timely feedback,” said Ryan McMahon, CMT’s Vice President of Insurance and Government Affairs. “MercuryGO will help make Oklahoma roads safer and has the potential to reduce the number of car collisions, injuries and fatalities.”
CMT’s research shows that 37% of all car trips in the U.S. in 2019 involved significant driver phone distraction; between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., that figure rises to 41% of all U.S. car trips. MercuryGO will help solve that problem by using technology that has reduced distracted driving by 29%, speeding by 45%, and hard braking by 17%.
MercuryGO provides useful in-app tips to help users become safer drivers. Added benefits include:
- A sharing option for families, which allows all participating drivers to see who is the safest.
- The ability for parents to receive real-time feedback about their teen’s driving behavior, including when, where and how fast they’re traveling.
- Licensed teen drivers, 18 years and younger, who are registered for MercuryGO will instantly receive a 10% participation discount on auto insurance.
- The opportunity to earn up to a 40% discount at renewal.
“It’s important to remember that driving is a privilege and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly,” said Schreck. “Every driver can benefit from sharpening their skills and MercuryGO can help them become a safer driver, while also putting money back in their pockets.”
Currently, MercuryGO is only available to Oklahoma and Texas drivers. Visit www.mercuryinsurance.com/GO or contact a local Mercury Insurance agent to enroll.
SOURCE: PRNewswire