System and Method for Tracking and Sharing Driving Metrics with a Plurality of Insurance Carriers

1 . A method for determining an insurance premium cost to insure a vehicle, the method comprising:

initiating and establishing a wireless communication link between:

a vehicle telematics system of the vehicle; and

a control center remote from the vehicle, the control center having:

a data center including:

at least one database server; and

at least one protocol gateway operable to exchange data with the at least one database server; and

a web portal connected to the data center through a communication link;

communicating driver metrics data associated with at least one of the vehicle and a driver of the vehicle from the vehicle telematics system to the data center;

analyzing the driver metrics data and creating a driver profile based upon the driver metrics data;

sharing the driver profile with at least one insurance carrier;

the at least one insurance carrier:

assigning a rating to the driver profile based upon the driver metrics data; and

determining an insurance premium cost to insure the vehicle based upon the assigned rating; and

presenting the determined insurance premium cost to at least one of an owner of the vehicle and a driver of the vehicle.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises carrying out the step of sharing the driver profile with the at least one insurance carrier by:

uploading data from the database server to the web portal, the data containing at least one of the driver metrics data, a portion of the driver profile, a metric representing at least a portion of the driver profile, and an entirety of the driver profile; and

the at least one insurance carrier accessing the data at the web portal.

3 . The method according to claim 2 , which further comprises carrying out the data accessing step by restricting access of the web portal to subscriber insurance carriers having a subscription plan with an entity associated with the control center.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises the driver of the vehicle at least one of:

opting in to allow the at least one insurance carrier to access at least a subset of the driver metrics data; and

opting out to prevent the at least one insurance carrier from accessing at least a subset of the driver metrics data.

5 . The method according to claim 4 , which further comprises executing the at least one opting step at the web portal by the driver.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises carrying out the driver-profile-rating assignment step by the at least one insurance carrier predicting and assigning an insurance risk associated with the driver profile, wherein:

a lower insurance risk is associated with a higher rating and a lower insurance premium cost; and

a higher insurance risk is associated with a lower rating and a higher insurance premium cost.

7 . The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises assigning a score to the driver profile at the data center based upon the driver metrics data, the score being a factor used by the at least one insurance carrier in rating the driver profile.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein:

the at least one insurance carrier includes a plurality of insurance carriers; and

the step of presenting the insurance premium cost to the driver is carried out by the plurality of insurance carriers participating in a bidding process in which multiple bids for insurance premium cost are presented to the driver from the plurality of insurance carriers.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of communicating driver metrics data is carried out by communicating driver metrics data to the vehicle telematics system from at least one of:

at least one sensor coupled to at least one of:

a tire system of the vehicle; and

a brake system of the vehicle;

a speedometer of the vehicle; and

an accelerometer of the vehicle.

10 . The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises:

carrying out the driver-profile-creating step by creating multiple driver profiles of multiple drivers associated with the vehicle, each driver profile being associated with a key fob assigned to each driver; and

the at least one insurance carrier:

assigning a rating to each of the multiple driver profiles; and

determining the insurance premium cost to insure the vehicle based upon the rating assigned to each of multiple driver profiles.

11 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the driver metrics data includes information regarding at least one of:

vehicle mileage traveled over a period of time;

vehicle speed information including at least one of:

a speed at which the vehicle is driven;

a limit of a speed range at which the vehicle is driven; and

a speed at which the vehicle turns;

vehicle acceleration information;

vehicle deceleration information;

a geographic location in which the vehicle is driven;

a condition of at least one of:

a vehicle brake system; and

a vehicle tire system;

a time of day the vehicle is driven; and

a type of use of the vehicle including one of on-road use and off-road use.

12 . A system for determining an insurance premium cost to insure a vehicle, the system comprising:

a control center remote from the vehicle, communicatively connected to a vehicle telematics system of the vehicle, and including:

a web portal; and

a data center:

connected to the web portal through a communication link;

including at least one database server;

including at least one protocol gateway operable to exchange data with the at least one database server; and

being operable to:

receive and process driver metrics data from the vehicle telematics system;

analyze the driver metrics data and create a driver profile based upon the driver metrics data; and

share the driver profile with at least one insurance carrier through the web portal.

13 . The system according to claim 12 , wherein the web portal is operable:

to receive an insurance premium cost to insure the vehicle from the at least one insurance carrier; and

to present the determined insurance premium cost to the driver.

14 . The system according to claim 12 , wherein the web portal is operable to allow the driver to at least one of:

opt in to allow the at least one insurance carrier to access at least a subset of the driver metrics data; and

opt out to prevent the at least one insurance carrier from accessing at least a subset of the driver metrics data.

15 . The system according to claim 12 , wherein the web portal is operable to restrict access thereto only to subscriber insurance carriers having a subscription plan with the control center.

16 . The system according to claim 12 , wherein the data center is further operable to:

assign a score to the driver profile based upon the driver metrics data; and

upload the score to the web portal.

17 . The system according to claim 12 , wherein the vehicle includes at least one of the following in communication with the vehicle telematics system:

at least one sensor coupled to at least one of:

a tire system of the vehicle; and

a brake system of the vehicle;

a speedometer of the vehicle; and

an accelerometer of the vehicle.

18 . The system according to claim 12 , wherein the data center is operable to create multiple driver profiles of different drivers associated with the vehicle, and further comprising key fobs each assigned to a respective driver, each driver profile being associated with a unique key fob.

19 . The system according to claim 12 , wherein the driver metrics data includes information regarding at least one of:

vehicle mileage traveled over a period of time;

vehicle speed information including at least one of:

a speed at which the vehicle is driven;

a limit of a speed range at which the vehicle is driven; and

a speed at which the vehicle turns;

vehicle acceleration information;

vehicle deceleration information;

a geographic location in which the vehicle is driven;

a condition of at least one of:

a vehicle brake system; and

a vehicle tire system;

a time of day the vehicle is driven; and

a type of use of the vehicle including one of on-road use and off-road use.