How Telematics and Data Are Paving a Better Way to Roadway Risk

With 25 years of pioneering solutions, SambaSafety is an established partner in reducing roadway risk. This year the company’s monitoring and training solutions was recognized as part of the PropertyCasualty360 Luminaries class of 2024 in Risk Management Innovations, as selected by the PropertyCasualty360 editorial team, with feedback from a panel of judges made up of a diverse group of industry thought leaders.

Its integration of disparate data sources offers insurers real-time insights into driver behavior and helps insurers predict and prevent collisions, reducing risk for over 15,000 customers. In this interview, CEO Matt Scheuing shares insights into the effort that led to this recognition.

Q: What work was recognized by the Luminaries panel? How did it begin, what were the challenges, and what was key to your success? Our Luminaries recognition is the culmination of decades of commitment to making roads safer by enabling insurers to move from reactive to proactive risk management. The commercial auto insurance industry has faced significant challenges, from rising claims severity to nuclear verdicts and inflation. SambaSafety provides a solution that goes beyond premium increases, enabling insurers to reverse this trend through better data transparency.

We harmonize billions of data points from global, federal and local sources —to establish a 360-degree view of driver risk. Our comprehensive, yet actionable risk index automates safety programs, cutting manual processes by up to 50%. But more importantly, we empower risk control teams and their commercial policyholders to effectively mitigate risk, reducing violations by up to 77% and crashes by up to 14% in the first year. We attribute our success to our commitment to the customer. We have been fortunate to partner closely with our customers over the years, helping them solve some of their toughest challenges.

Q: How did SambaSafety support these efforts? The backbone of our success is our data aggregation and normalization capabilities. By delivering actionable insights, insurers gain deeper visibility into the risks they manage and increase effectiveness of loss control efforts.

We’ve also heavily invested in expanding our ecosystem of telematics integration partners. Our recent telematics survey found 82% of commercial carriers strongly agree telematics is critical to improving profitability in commercial auto. Over one-third of fleets surveyed indicated they use 2 or more telematics providers. The depth and breadth of our connections allows insurers and brokers to access more data, faster. SambaSafety’s device-agnostic approach seamlessly connects insurers to telematics data from their policyholders’ current providers, so they can start using the data right away.

Q: What advice would you give to those hoping to achieve similar success? It’s important to recognize that we are the risk and risk is not random. It is possible to predict and prevent incidents, but it requires action. My advice is to move intentionally, creating an opportunity to disrupt at a pace that aligns with organizational readiness. The future of insurance is connected, real-time, and personalized. Those who adopt a well-thought-out strategy and collaborate with the right partners can not only improve profitability but also contribute to safer roads.