LexisNexis Risk Solutions gives UK motor insurers vehicle safety data insights to assist policy pricing

UK motor insurance providers can now start testing LexisNexis® Vehicle Build, a new solution to better evaluate specific Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), to support pricing and underwriting.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions is inviting motor insurers to test the data solution against real-world performance and claims data, prior to launch later this year.

To date, it has been a challenge for insurers to identify exactly what ADAS features a specific vehicle is equipped with when writing a motor insurance policy. This is because each car manufacturer has created their own unique terminology, definitions and naming structures – sometimes releasing multiple features within the same model year. In addition, many items are chosen as optional extras when a vehicle is purchased from new.

To address this challenge, data scientists at LexisNexis Risk Solutions have developed an ADAS classification system using machine learning to scan millions of lines of car manufacturer vehicle data to logically sequence and classify vehicle safety features and component’s intended operation or purpose.

This classification system provides the foundation for LexisNexis Vehicle Build.  Access to vehicle safety data will help insurance providers factor for their presence throughout the customer journey – in pricing, mid-term adjustments and renewals – and establish the differences in risk profile associated with the vehicles that have these safety features.

LexisNexis Vehicle Build will help insurers understand how specific safety features behave, for example if a feature will provide an alert or warning to the vehicle’s driver when a potential danger or hazard is detected. It will also allow insurers to understand the purpose of features.

Carla Hopkins, Senior Vertical Market Manager, LexisNexis Risk Solutions said: “Car manufacturers continually develop and deploy new ADAS features and promote their efficacy in reducing accidents.  We therefore want to give the insurance industry the confidence to price or create products with a new level of vehicle build information to reflect the increasing penetration of ADAS in the UK car parc.  We have invested significantly, gathering and normalising ADAS data, looking at it through an underwriting lens, to give the industry new vehicle-centric insights for pricing and underwriting.”

The solution, available later this year, will provide insurers with access to ADAS features at a VIN level, currently present on approximately 70% of new passenger vehicles in the UK market.