State Farm Expands Telematics Offerings with Hughes Partnership

In-Drive features a proprietary device with safety and diagnostics features and also increases opportunities for usage-based insurance.

State Farm (Bloomington, Ill.) has partnered with Hughes Telematics (Atlanta) on a new initiative, In-Drive, which provides a device connecting vehicles to safety and diagnostics options, including one-touch emergency response, roadside assistance, stolen vehicle location, vehicle diagnostic alerts and maintenance reminders, location services and speed alerts. The service also includes a dedicated website and smartphone app for remote and mobile access.

“This combined offering represents a first in our industry,” Mike Wey, SVP of State Farm, says in a statement. “It will provide drivers with a wide range of new options that will make for a smarter vehicle and even smarter driver.”

In-Drive also will enable more State Farm policyholders to take part in the Drive Safe & Save usage-based insurance program, the company says. The device provides driving performance data used in the program, such as mileage, turns, acceleration, braking, speed and time of day vehicle is operated.

Drive Safe & Save had previously only been available to users of the OnStar program. When reached for comment in May, State Farm spokesperson Kip Diggs said the company was looking at other ways to offer the program to drivers, but he was "unable to discuss those at this time due to regulatory and competitive reasons."

Nathan Golia is senior editor of Insurance & Technology. He joined the publication in 2010 as associate editor and covers all aspects of the nexus between insurance and information technology, including mobility, distribution, core systems, customer interaction, and risk ... View Full Bio