AXA and Brightmile offer safe driving app for fleets providing essential services

AXA-insured fleets can access the Brightmile app for free for three months

The app monitors vehicle speeds, journey durations and phone distractions

Set up and managed remotely, the risk management solution is compatible with social distancing

AXA Insurance is offering the Brightmile app to its fleet customers as a way of supporting safe driving during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The motor insurer and the tech start-up are partnering on a smartphone telematics solution for fleets, which they are launching during lockdown.

The UK government ordered movement restrictions on 23 March, but key workers can still commute and vehicles providing essential services are still allowed on the roads. These services include food delivery, medicine distribution, charity work, gas, electricity and water provision, and other crucial activities.

To support those services, AXA and Brightmile are launching a risk management proposition whereby AXA-insured fleets can access the Brightmile app for free for three months.

The smartphone solution can be deployed and managed totally remotely, without any physical contact, and focuses on certain key areas of risk exposure which persist despite the crisis. Even though road traffic has reduced, police forces have seen a number of drivers driving at very high speeds and dangerously. 

What is more, the government has temporarily relaxed restrictions on delivery drivers’ hours to help supermarkets restack their shelves with food, cleaning products and personal care items. This measure, taken with the understanding that driver welfare and safety must not be compromised, reinforces the need to prevent driver fatigue and complacency.

The Brightmile app keeps track of journey durations, vehicle speeds, phone interactions and other risk factors. With rewards for safe driving, it encourages drivers to improve their behind-the-wheel behaviour. On the company side, a web portal is available for fleet managers and business owners managing their company vehicles, where they can view fleet trends and insights, and encourage safer driving.

The Brightmile offer is at the centre of a wellbeing programme which AXA is rolling out to support fleet drivers’ physical and mental health. That holistic programme comprises:

• The app for drivers and web portal for fleet managers and business owners
• Training on how to use telematics data
• A presentation on fleet managers’ corporate responsibility
• An online resource library containing relevant handbooks and forms

Doug Jenkins, Motor Technical Risk Manager, AXA Insurance said, “The coronavirus lockdown hasn’t removed all road dangers. In these trying times, drivers who are delivering essential services need to keep safe. We want to show them we value their contribution to society and we want to help them stay safe. We hope this app and the associated services will make a difference to their wellbeing.”

Brightmile is a start-up that has been incubated by Kamet, AXA’s insurTech studio. The app it has developed can be downloaded onto a smartphone and doesn’t require any additional hardware, making it simpler and more cost-effective than traditional black box or on-board diagnostics (OBD) telematics.

Dominic Saunders, CEO, Brightmile commented, “Since the Brightmile app is easy to install and operate, drivers can continue to observe social distancing and fleet managers can use the web portal as part of their remote working arrangements. The whole set up functions within today’s safety requirements and we trust it will be a helpful tool for key workers.”

The Brightmile offer is available to new and existing fleet customers. Brokers with qualifying risks are invited to contact their usual AXA Commercial account manager to access the offer.

Authored by AXA Commercial