The phenomenon of telematics – wireless technology that lets cars connect and communicate with enterprise applications – has attracted attention among insurance carriers worldwide over the past couple of years. According to a research report from Berg Insight, shipments of OEM embedded telematics systems worldwide are forecasted to grow from 8.4 million units in 2013 to 54.5 million units in 2020. Additionally, the number of cars sold worldwide equipped with handset-based telematics capabilities will grow from 7.0 million in 2013 to 68.5 million in 2020.

In fact, this was a huge point of discussion at last month's Intelligent Transport Society event in Detroit. General Motors announced the company's plans to launch a hands-free automated driving system and Wi-Fi-enabled vehicle-to-vehicle communications system by 2016 in its Cadillac CTS sedans. Calling it the "super cruise" system, the technology is aimed to help drivers avoid crashes without the need for their own intervention.

As the U.S. Department of Transportation has said it is considering putting forth legislation that would require vehicle-to-vehicle communications technology to be implemented by 2016, automakers such as Toyota, Volkswagen and Ford are also actively developing similar systems. But telematics has several other benefits outside of safety.