Progressive and Allstate have settled a patent dispute over technology that allows personal auto insurers to charge drivers based on how, where, and how much they drive.
Progressive sued Allstate, alleging the carrier infringed patents and trademarks for what it calls "usage-based insurance."
Progressive reports it has licensed certain patent portfolios to Allstate, and that the two companies had entered into an agreement to let their various trademarks co-exist. Terms were not disclosed.
Allstate markets its program as "DriveWise," while Progressive uses the "Drive" trademark.
Both insurers offer a device that policyholders can plug into their cars, which measures not only how much the customer drives but how fast they go, how often they brake hard, and other metrics.
Both companies advertise the ability of customers to earn discounts on their premiums, depending how they drive.
"This was about protecting and leveraging Progressive's investment of more than 15 years in usage-based insurance research, development, testing, and piloting," says Chuck Jarrett, Progressive's chief legal officer. "We have always said we are willing to license our intellectual property rights to others and that we will enforce those rights when necessary."
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
