Today the Hartford told industry analysts they are launching TrueLane usage-based insurance early next year.   Their head of consumer insurance Andy Napoli said it will measure how well customers drive, but did not say whether it will initially base discounts on driving behavior.

Several other insurers launched usage-based products that collect driving-behavior data but at first only offered discounts based on mileage.   In those launches, the driving behavior data are likely used to develop discount algorithms to offer behavior-based discounts in future versions.  Two products seeming to take that approach are Travelers IntelliDrive available in Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, and Virginia, and AAA NCNU uDrive in Nevada.

If TrueLane does provide discounts based on driving behavior, then it will be the fifth  insurance of that type in the U.S. market.  The pioneer was Progressive, whose SnapShot is now available in 39 states and DC.  The others are: Liberty Mutual Safeco unit’s Rewind offered in Colorado; Allstate’s DriveWise available in Illinois, Arizona, and Ohio; and State Farm’s Drive Safe & Save in Illinois.  (State Farm offers Drive Safe & Save in other states, but only in Illinois does it base discounts on driving behavior so far.)