Nationwide and IMS partner on mileage-focused insurance telematics offering

IMS (Insurance & Mobility Solutions) is partnering with Nationwide as the technology provider for the SmartMiles pay-per-mile insurance program. As one of the world’s top three providers of connected car data solutions to insurers, mobility operators and governments, IMS helps power two of Nationwide’s usage-based insurance programs which also includes Nationwide’s SmartRide discount program that launched in 2011.

The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted how important it is for auto insurers to offer customers flexible and personalized approaches to auto insurance.  While driving distance, frequency, and length of trips were decreased dramatically at the onset of the pandemic, many countries have seen driving behaviors edging back toward pre-lockdown levels. IMS enables Nationwide’s pay-per-mile insurance telematics program SmartMiles, which bases insurance charges on miles driven and also allows drivers  to earn up to a 10% discount for safe driving.

“During a time of uncertainty, SmartMiles is successfully giving our customers the ability to control their auto insurance expenses with personalized pricing“, said Teresa Scharn, Vice President of Personal Lines Product Development at Nationwide. “IMS has enabled us to look at, not only miles-driven, but also to factor in driving behavior – an industry first for policyholders.“

IMS has been working with Nationwide since 2011, helping launch SmartRide which is now in 46 states plus D.C. The program gives personalized feedback for drivers to make safer driving decisions, allowing them to earn a discount of up to 40%. In 2019 Nationwide launched SmartMiles with technology provided by IMS, providing customers with a pay-per-mile auto insurance solution.

“IMS has worked with Nationwide to expand the SmartMiles pay-per-mile program across the United States,“ said Bob Skerrett, CEO of Insurance at IMS. “We are delighted to expand our partnership with Nationwide to include two major telematics insurance programs SmartMiles and SmartRide. We look forward to working with Nationwide in the future.“

“IMS is excited to be the technology provider for Nationwide’s SmartMiles consumer offering,” said Nino Tarantino, CEO of IMS (Americas). “Our mileage-based product leverages the power of our device-agnostic IMS DriveSync platform – in this case, using our market-leading OBD-II performance to deliver mileage-based driver analysis from policyholder to insurer. Policyholders pay for the miles driven and insurers get accurate vehicle usage intelligence.”