One of the Netherlands’ largest insurance companies Achmea plans to give premium discounts to customers who agree to share data on their behaviour at home and in the car, according to the Financieele Dagblad.

Measuring customer behaviour

By installing measuring devices in your home and car, the company aims to monitor how customers behave and offer premiums accordingly.

"We are going to link insurance policies to people who take these kind of prevention measures into their homes," says director Albert Spijkman. "We are willing to lower the premium." 

Using Google Nest

It is reported that customers who chose to provide data will be given a Google Nest device - a smart thermostat with a built-in smoke detector. Google has not yet confirmed participation in Achmea's plans.

The tool will provide users with useful data, raising their awareness of how they use their home environments. "If the customer is safer, we also reduce our own risk," says Spijkman.

Monitoring driving habits

Achmea is working on its own car monitoring system which aims to help users observe their driving behaviour.

The system encourages safe driving with a possibility of lower premiums for customers who show safe driving data, such as driving at lower speeds.

As well as monitoring this data, Achmea also aims to integrate additional services for customers, such as providing warnings and calling for roadside assistance.

Independent initiatives, such as Fairzekering, already use a measuring system to relate customer premiums with how they drive their vehicles. 

A "Chipin-stekker" (Chipin Plug) is placed in a car which can monitor how hard you brake, how fast you drive, acceleration speed and more.

An app is linked to the monitor, which shows customers how safely they have driven every month. If a customer receives a green score, they get a 35 percent discount, orange indicates 10 percent and customers with red receive no discount.

Customer data kept confidential

It is the first time that a major insurance company is offering to use private information to determine customer premiums, the FD says.

Achmea states that the data will remain with the customer and will not be shared with third parties. "It is still the customer's information. They can decide to share the information with us or not. If they do, they will receive a lower insurance premium."