Benzinga | Jul 12, 2021 10:16AM EDT

Mercury Insurance Launches MercuryGO For Georgia Drivers

Today, Mercury Insurance announced that the company has made its usage-based insurance app, MercuryGO, available to drivers in Georgia to help improve driving skills and traffic safety. The app acts as a virtual driving coach, providing skill scores that give real-time feedback about driving behavior. Mercury auto insurance policyholders who enroll to use the app immediately receive up to a 10% participation discount. Then, when MercuryGO customers renew their policies, they could receive a discount of up to 40%, depending upon their driving score.

"Most car crashes can be avoided and MercuryGO is a helpful app that will keep Georgians safe while on the road," said Mercury Insurance Director of Product Management Mike Dawdy. "MercuryGO is a simple way to help keep drivers focused on their main task. Our smartphone app will help educate drivers of all ages and experience levels about the importance of staying alert behind the wheel, with the ultimate goal of reducing fatalities and serious injuries. Plus, this program empowers drivers to save a lot of money on their insurance."

The Georgia Department of Transportation reports there were 1,615 motor vehicle traffic fatalities in 2020 despite fewer miles being driven. This is the highest number of fatalities since 2007.

The MercuryGO app generates a driving skill score, which is calculated based on categories that are closely correlated with car crashes: excessive speeding, hard braking, distracted driving (i.e., phone motion and screen interaction), and road type.

Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), Mercury's technology partner, is the world's largest smartphone telematics provider, winning multiple awards. CMT is the pioneer of: usage-based insurance with smartphones (in 2012); the measurement of phone distraction (2013); behavior-based insurance (2014); and real-time crash alerts with roadside assistance (2015).

"Mercury Insurance is utilizing the DriveWell platform to help drivers reduce distracted driving, speeding, and hard braking by keeping them engaged and providing timely feedback," said Ryan McMahon, CMT's Vice President of Insurance and Government Affairs. "MercuryGO will help make Florida roads safer and has the potential to reduce the number of car collisions, injuries and fatalities."

CMT's research shows that 37% of all car trips in the U.S. in 2019 involved significant driver phone distraction; between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., that figure rises to 41% of all U.S. car trips. MercuryGO will help solve that problem by using technology that has reduced distracted driving by 29%, speeding by 45%, and hard braking by 17%.

MercuryGO provides useful in-app tips to help users become safer drivers. Added benefits include:

* A sharing option for families, which allows all participating drivers to see who is the safest.

* The ability for parents to receive real-time feedback about their teen's driving behavior, including when, where and how fast they're traveling.

* Licensed teen drivers, 18 years and younger, who are registered for MercuryGO will instantly receive a 10% participation discount on auto insurance.

* The opportunity to earn up to a 40% discount at renewal.

Currently, MercuryGO is only available to Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas drivers. Visit www.mercuryinsurance.com/GO or contact a local Mercury Insurance agent to enroll.

Tweet the news: MercuryGO is available in Georgia and could save drivers up to a 40% on auto insurance. Visit www.MercuryInsurance.com/GO