Over 60% of motorists are willing to move to usage based insurance (UBI), according to new research from Vodafone.

Anne Sheehan, Vodafone’s enterprise director spoke at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Annual Conference on November 20 and outlined how the Internet of Things (IoT) and a partnership with Admiral Insurance is helping to make driving safer, cheaper and greener.

On stage with Gunnar Peters, Admiral’s Head of Telematics, she outlined how Vodafone’s connectivity and secure data processing helps Admiral assess responsible driving and price their policies accordingly.

It also provides instant data in the event of a crash. This means the emergency services can be called; and also speeds up any claims process.

Adoption of UBI across Europe is currently low – Italy leads the way with 17% of policies and the UK follows with around 2% of policies.

However, new research from Vodafone suggests widespread driver support for telematics with 63% of respondents ‘open’ or ‘could be persuaded’ to have technology in their vehicles if it resulted in rewards for safer driving.

The biggest incentive for take-up would be a reduction in insurance premiums (68%), followed by reduced fuel costs (62%) and then reduced environmental impact (48%).

Sheehan said: “ As well as the immediate benefits of encouraging more efficient driving, telematics can pave the way for exciting developments in the future.

“For example, it could be used to provide live data on traffic flows, accurate weather reporting and vehicle-to-vehicle communications to help reduce the risk of collisions.”