Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) will be collaborating with innovative Swiss car manufacturer Rinspeed on initiatives to develop a better understanding of how people will drive in the future and how this will change insurance needs.
As part of this co-operation, Zurich will support the development of “BamBoo”, a community platform about cars and driving. The BamBoo concept will be presented at the Geneva Motorshow in March. The platform will be available for use in vehicles with internet access and through smart phones.
Among its uses, BamBoo will help community members to carpool through existing social media networks. In addition, it will be possible to measure and monitor the carbon footprint of a car while driving, register important driving data before and during a loss event, or to locate a car using GPS or similar technology.
New environment-friendly technol
In the future, it is likely that insurance coverage will focus less on mere horse power and more and more on built-in technologies, Zurich said. While new technologies open up a wide range of opportunities, at the same time new risks arise for which novel insurance solutions are needed. Close cooperation between partners from the different industries is therefore vital during the product development stage, the company noted.
The relationship with Rinspeed will allow Zurich to tap into a knowledge pool where experts from areas such as car manufacturing, IT, telematics and communications exchange ideas. Zurich will provide these partners with insurance and risk insights in return.