LEARNING LESSONS IN INSURANCE
Passing your driving test is not easy but when you do it’s a fantastic feeling, the thought of just heading out whenever you want, wherever you want. Then you get that first insurance quote and realise the hard part wasn’t passing the test but being able to afford the expensive premiums. Drove wanted to create a product that supported the new driver by reducing insurance premiums.
MY ROLE
I was responsible for the proposition and product definition, visual design, copywriting and branding.
I delivered on the customer goals whilst balancing the business goals to ensure these were met at every stage.
I presented up to gain product buy‐in from executives, senior stakeholders and other internal teams throughout the project lifecycle.
THE CHALLENGE
CREATE A NEW MODEL
With average premiums for newly qualified drivers under-25 at £1,831* getting on the insurance ladder can be unachievable for some.
Drove had a big ambition. They wanted to disrupt the traditional insurance model and make it fairer for new drivers. So they set a simple goal for us. Bring down the cost of premiums for new drivers.
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THE APPROACH
FOCUS ON THE GOALS
Our initial lack of knowledge in new driver insurance called for us to understand not only the nature of how premiums are calculated for this group, but what factors are applied by insurers to build a risk profile that’s used for calculating a quote.
We wanted to establish any common data collection factors that are used between insurers when they calculate a quote. Any commons factors would enable us to identify points of potential disruption to the existing model and guide the project goals.
GETTING LEAN AND MEAN
We used a lean approach to allow us to validate our assumptions early and gain feedback from the wider team before moving towards a MVP. The approach allowed for lots of group wide ideation and created a real sense of ownership throughout the whole team.
THE DISCOVERY
LET'S GET PERSONAL
Before we could begin our research phase we needed to understand more who Drove wanted to help. We knew they wanted to bring down the cost of insurance for new drivers but we needed to discover how a new driver is defined, to help us design the personas we would be using constantly throughout the project to guide both design decisions and priorities.
After some initial interviews with underwriters we discovered two things. Firstly our ‘New Drivers’ can be viewed as a Learner, Just Passed and First Policy. Secondly the world of insurance do not like to give away any specific information on how they use the data you provide to estimate a quote.
Our research was split into two directions. The Customer & The Industry.
THE CUSTOMER
From a small research panel of learner and newly qualified drivers we were able to create 3 primary personas based on our initial conversations with industry underwriters which allowed us to group the insights into 3 customer groups that would help further define the project goals.
Lisa, 18 year old student who is currently learning to drive through a mix of professional instructor led and family/friends lessons.
Paul, 19 year old who has just passed his driving test and saving for his first premium.
Sarah, 21 year old who has paid a high premium for her first policy.
We used these personas constantly throughout the discovery phase of the project to shape and guide design decisions and establish priorities within the project.
THE INDUSTRY
We used interviews with underwriters to not only create our groups, but also to build a picture of how premiums are arrived at for drivers. In its simplest terms we found the amount you pay for your car insurance is a direct reflection of how likely an insurer thinks you are to make a claim, and how expensive that claim is likely to be.
They use many factors common to all insurers when they calculate a premium. Your age, occupation, the car, how you will use and even where you live.
It soon became apparent during our research that the biggest variable in the equation is you.
Experienced drivers are able to provide information to insurers regarding their driving history that allow this risk to be built in. You are a known variable and can be profiled into the calculation. Drove’s aim to make insurance cheaper for new drivers needed to address this absence of personal data.
THE INSIGHTS
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
From our discovery phase we were able to identify these key insights which we used to define goals and features of the final product design.
LEARNERS
Are not inexperienced. Research showed they average at least 60-70 hours of driving experience before applying for their driving test through a mix of professional and private tuition. None of this experience is able to be factored in by an insurer when calculating a first policy cost.
PAY AS YOU DRIVE
These drivers are qualified and are saving for their first policy. They currently drive using short term insurance by the day or week. Booked in advance on specialist provider websites. Any road experience gained by this user is unable to be taken into account by an insurer and factored in.
FIRST POLICYHOLDER
The only real choice for a first policyholder if they want to reduce their premium is to take out a telematic based policy. These users feel they are forced to have boxes fitted as there is no alternative to reducing costs. They are frustrated that any benefit to this is not seen for 12 months.
INSURERS
Cannot easily tell types of new drivers apart so they pool risk characteristics when modeling premiums for this group. They do not have access to driving habits or patterns pre policy so both good and bad new drivers are treated the same and only differentiated in the event of a claim.
TELEMATICS
At the heart of what insurers value most is risk management. If they can change customer behaviour they can reduce the risk of an accident. Telematics gives the insurer the ability to do this via a black box.
LITTLE BLACK BOX
For Learners, it's not an option. For a driver who use PAYD insurance they do not have a fixed car to install the box into. It can also be an issue convincing your parents to let them install a black box in their car.
THE VISION
REWARD GOOD BEHAVIOUR
Insurers reward good drivers with cheaper policies using a No Claims Bonus Discount. They can offer this as they 'know' you year after year of careful driving. We will use telematics to allow an insurer to 'know' a new driver so they can offer insurance based on a known risk.
Drove is a telematic based app designed to reward both learners and new licence holders who drive, but don’t have their own car or annual car insurance policy yet. It will offer on demand insurance policies for learners to gain experience in private lessons in addtion to recording a driver score for any professional lessons they have. It will allow new drivers the ability to insure themselves on multple cars on demand and allow them to track each journey to create a score which will build into a driver profile.
By insuring yourself using the Drove App you start to build a unique No Claims Bonus profile that can be redeemed against an annual car insurance policy when you are ready, all in app and on demand.
THE DESIGN
HELLO DROVE
Final iOS app screens for private beta
DROVE is built around a conversational interface over 5 key sections.
Each section offers feature and information rich interactions experienced in a simple intuitive way.
Cover | Activity | Live | Policies | More
COVER
Cover sits at the heart of Drove. It’s the start of every journey made. On Demand instant or scheduled cover for either a driving lesson or borrowing a car to pop to Ikea as a full licence holder. Simply click and drag to duration and start time to begin.
VOICE
With driving safety of paramount importance Drove features conversational options and simply ask to be covered using your voice alone. Simply start a cover period and you are guided through the journey with simple intuitive questions.
QUOTE
Once you have selected your start time and duration you are shown your quote, with a single swipe you are covered for your journey. Your saved cars are displayed and can be changed from your options stored in your garage of vehicles.
LIVE
Live records your lesson during your cover period and works to build your Bonus points. Using Telematics, 5 key performance areas are automatically tracked whilst you have active cover.
DRIVING SCORE
Activity is where you monitor all your past driving activity and check how your Bonus Builder score is progressing. Past and future activity is displayed in a simple calendar interface allowing for instant playback of past driving sessions.
ACTIVITY
User added events such as Tests and Lessons allows you to monitor your whole driving experience in one place. Adding an new event is a simple one tap on your selected date.
POLICIES
Policies contains a digital document store for both live and previous cover documents. It features a dashboard of current cover offering one click help in case of emergency allowing the sharing of policy details with a 3rd party.
DIGITAL GARAGE
Your licence details and cars you drive are all stored here. Cars can be added simply by entering a registration number and become available for you to add cover to.
LET'S CHAT
A powerful AI Chat Bot enables interactive 2 way messaging, engaging the user with help and questions on everything from Theory Tests to Policy Questions, creating ongoing engagement with Drove. In the even of an accident the claims process is also handled via chat.
© 2019 John Beach