Photo: Octo
Insurance companies around the world are doing quite well, no matter how much they complain. The rates are growing almost every year, but the return service doesn't, and this is a fact. Italian telemetrics specialists Octo introduce Rider 1, an add-on system that could reduce the amount of money motorcyclists spend on insurance... in certain conditions.
If Octo sounds somewhat familiar in the bike world, you're right: they are running the Octo Ioda team in MotoGP. Still the Octo Rider 1 has nothing to do with road racing. It is a small box that attaches to your bike and it will tell the insurance company certain things about your riding behavior.
This is the main condition to make the Octo Rider 1 work, an insurance company that will agree to create a custom, client-tailored quote based on how and how much the customer rides. Basically this system is a pay-as-you-ride method of determining how much one rides and how much should he or she be paying.
If you have a vintage bike that's sitting around in your garage and you only ride it several times a year for weekend outings around the town or at a bike show, having to pay for a whole year or even a semester doesn't quite cut it.
The Octo Rider 1 could be the best way to cut down costs. Or, in other cases, if one owns more than one motorcycles and only rides one at a time, paying insurance fees only for the time or distance the vehicles traveled clearly sounds like a decent economy.
Pay As You Drive (PAYD) – allows insurance companies to personalize the premium based on the type of roads (rural, urban, motorway) driven. The data acquired via the telematics device allows insurance companies to personalize policies based on policyholder driving style and use;
Stolen Vehicle Recovery (SVR) – “Rider 1” allows motorbikes to be geo-located by the user via a service center that will also activate the motorbike recovery process;
Alert Services – these include special added value services such as Battery Charge Alerts (Rider 1 monitors battery performance and alerts drivers via SMS or e-mail if the battery charge is low or problematic) and Battery Disconnect Alerts (notifies drivers via SMS or e-mail if the battery is disconnected).
A lot of riders, including Mike of motorbiker and us here, are not exactly fond of adding yet one more name to the already long list of entities that know too much on the whereabouts of individuals. So far, the Octo Rider 1 remains a cool idea for those who are not that concerned with anyone (new to the list, as we already said) potentially knowing where and how they ride.
This is the main condition to make the Octo Rider 1 work, an insurance company that will agree to create a custom, client-tailored quote based on how and how much the customer rides. Basically this system is a pay-as-you-ride method of determining how much one rides and how much should he or she be paying.
If you have a vintage bike that's sitting around in your garage and you only ride it several times a year for weekend outings around the town or at a bike show, having to pay for a whole year or even a semester doesn't quite cut it.
The Octo Rider 1 could be the best way to cut down costs. Or, in other cases, if one owns more than one motorcycles and only rides one at a time, paying insurance fees only for the time or distance the vehicles traveled clearly sounds like a decent economy.
Installing this system provides four major benefits
Pay Per Use (PPU) – allows insurance companies to calculate insurance premiums on the basis of the total distance driven annually or on the period of the day during which the vehicle is routinely used (i.e., night time or off-peak use);Pay As You Drive (PAYD) – allows insurance companies to personalize the premium based on the type of roads (rural, urban, motorway) driven. The data acquired via the telematics device allows insurance companies to personalize policies based on policyholder driving style and use;
Stolen Vehicle Recovery (SVR) – “Rider 1” allows motorbikes to be geo-located by the user via a service center that will also activate the motorbike recovery process;
Alert Services – these include special added value services such as Battery Charge Alerts (Rider 1 monitors battery performance and alerts drivers via SMS or e-mail if the battery charge is low or problematic) and Battery Disconnect Alerts (notifies drivers via SMS or e-mail if the battery is disconnected).
It's always down to the privacy issue
Now, as one can certainly draw benefits from this system, the matter of personal privacy comes into the spotlight. Because of the GPS tracking, the insurance company will have access to one's location and even other variables, such as speed, the Octo Rider 1 and similar gadgets remains a sensitive zone.A lot of riders, including Mike of motorbiker and us here, are not exactly fond of adding yet one more name to the already long list of entities that know too much on the whereabouts of individuals. So far, the Octo Rider 1 remains a cool idea for those who are not that concerned with anyone (new to the list, as we already said) potentially knowing where and how they ride.
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