Average daily commute time is different for different locations ...
people in top 5 states spend twice as much time travelling as people in bottom 5 states
If you are interested in learning more about our DrivSafe smartphone based telematics system and how it can help you build and expand your auto insurance telematics program, please contact us here.
Till recently, there was no economical or easy way to verify this commute time and distance data - the only option was to use very expensive plug-in insurance telematics devices. However, DrivSafe smartphone based telematics system is changing the game. DrivSafe has built and optimized its patented technology to leverage smartphones for the auto insurance industry. It collect and displays various information about driving behaviors including commute times and distances. It eliminates the need for auto insurance companies and individual drivers to buy a separate device that needs to be plugged-in the vehicle. It also eliminates the cost of data transmission and the need for separate website based infrastructure to display personalized reports.
If you are an auto insurance company, this difference in commute time and miles driven can make a significant difference to how you rate the policy. Not only do you need to determine the “average” distance traveled in a state but also the distances traveled by each of your policyholders to accurately align their risk with the premium they are charged.
They estimate that people living in top 5 states have a daily commute ~2 times as long as the people living in the bottom 5 states (see chart).
Federal Highway Administration data shows that daily commute vary widely among states. For example people living in New York have a daily commute of ~31 minutes while people living in Iowa have a daily commute of ~18 minutes. The difference of 13 minutes extra per day translates to driving ~45 hours per year or ~2,000 miles per year.