One of the hottest new technologies on the market today is the Global Positioning System; GPS devices are in cars, on PDAs, and in wristwatches. A new sportgeocachinghas grown up around the technology. Although often slow to adopt new technologies, the insurance industry is beginning to incorporate GPS technology. Surprisingly, though, its biggest impact is in crop insurance.
Yes, we said crop insurancehardly one of the sexiest coverages in the already unsexy world of insurance, but (for the moment) one of the few putting GPS to work.
Dont bet on it staying that way, though. Ask around and youll see that usage-based underwriting, courtesy of GPS, will likely become a standard tool for the property and casualty underwriter. GPS-equipped cars will allow carriers to accurately monitor how far (and how fast) they travel. Homeowners policies will have accurate measurements on the distance of your house from the nearest fireplug, how long it takes the fire department to respond, and maybe even the likelihood of earthquakes.
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