Volvo Cars is launching a new optional app designed to help drivers improve their habits behind the wheel while potentially lowering their car insurance costs.
Called Safety Coach, the app analyzes everyday driving behavior and provides a personalized safety score based on factors such as braking, acceleration, cornering and speed. The score is designed to encourage safer, more predictable driving and could eventually qualify drivers for usage-based insurance discounts.
The rollout begins in Sweden and Norway, with Volvo planning to expand Safety Coach to the United States and other European markets.
Safety Coach uses driving data collected from compatible Volvo vehicles to evaluate how a driver behaves in traffic. The system looks at actions including hard braking, acceleration, cornering and speed, then generates a dynamic personal safety score.
Drivers will receive real-time insights and tips through the vehicle’s infotainment display, while a smartphone version will be integrated into the Volvo Cars mobile app.
The concept is similar to Tesla’s Safety Score system, although Volvo says its approach is based on the company’s decades of real-world safety research and data.
According to Volvo driver behavior expert Mikael Ljung Aust, predictability is an important part of avoiding collisions.
“Staying within expected speed ranges and avoiding abrupt manoeuvres makes your driving easier for others to anticipate and reduces the risk of a collision,” Aust said.
The goal is not simply to produce a score, but to help drivers gradually develop safer driving habits.
One of the most interesting aspects of Safety Coach is its connection to usage-based car insurance.
In Sweden and Norway, Volvo customers who choose to share their driving data will soon be eligible for a special offer from Volvia, Volvo’s affiliated insurance company. Drivers with safer driving behavior could potentially receive more favorable insurance premiums.
Volvo plans to introduce similar insurance-related benefits when Safety Coach expands to additional European markets and the United States. The automaker has not yet announced which U.S. insurance provider will participate.
The system is optional, and drivers remain in control of whether their information is shared with insurance companies.
After initially opting in, owners can choose not to share their driving data with affiliated insurers. They can also opt back in later.
The initial rollout covers Volvo vehicles equipped with Google’s Android-based infotainment system from model year 2020 and newer.
Compatible models include: XC40, EX40, EC40, S60, V60, XC60, EX60, XC90, V90, EX90 and ES90.
The availability of individual models may vary by market as the rollout expands.
Safety Coach was developed by Volvo Cars in collaboration with Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), a company specializing in telematics and artificial intelligence for safer mobility.
CMT’s algorithm is used to generate each driver’s Safety Coach score. The company says its safe-driving programs have demonstrated reductions in behaviors such as speeding and hard braking when drivers actively participate.
That could make the system more than another dashboard statistic. By providing continuous feedback, Volvo hopes drivers will make small changes that become safer habits over time.
