Cover Whale 'to deploy thousands' of Netradyne AI dash cams

Commercial trucking insurtech Cover Whale is partnering with Netradyne, a SaaS provider of AI and edge computing solutions focused on improving road safety for commercial fleets.

The partnership will involve Cover Whale committing to deploying thousands of Netradyne’s advanced Driver-i dual-facing dash cameras, which enable fleet operators to promote safer driving and identify problematic behaviours behind the wheel. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), large truck crashes are roughly three times more likely to result in injury compared to standard passenger vehicles, leading to over 5,000 deaths in 2021 alone.

Dash cameras have become an increasingly popular tool in commercial fleet insurance as they allow operators to improve road safety while reducing the exposure to risk for insurers, which in turn opens up the possibility of reducing annual premiums.

Netradyne’s platform allows Cover Whale to nudge driver behaviour when it detects excessive speed, hard braking or hard turning. Drivers that follow the guidance can save money on premiums and will be rewarded with Netradyne’s GreenZone DriverStars for proactive behaviour like consecutive stops.

Cameras will show operators where to reduce risk

Dan Abrahamsen, CEO of Cover Whale, says: “Cameras are an indispensable part of our Driver Safety Program that not only help us improve safety measures, and save drivers money, but also empower our policyholders to make safe driving a core part of their day-to-day.

“Partnering with Netradyne to use their advanced cameras, including the Driver-i D-210 and D-215 dash cameras, fall directly in line with our mission of using tech to preempt and prevent future loss. We continue to focus on ways to streamline and improve the claims process, maintain low loss ratios and prioritise the safety of our policyholders.”

“We are thrilled to partner with a provider who puts fleet safety at the forefront of its business,” adds Adam Kahn, Chief Business Development officer at Netradyne. “Advanced AI dash cams are no longer an industry ‘nice to have’' but have become a necessity for companies who recognise that safety coaching is the best form of insurance.

“Traditional Accident Event Recorders (AERs) look back at harsh events, missing risky behavioural trends. The Driver-i devices being deployed with Cover Whale use AI and edge computing to capture and analyse every second of drive time, which will help policyholders quickly identify where to focus coaching to reduce risk and lower insurance costs.”

Next step in Cover Whale's technology strategy

It is not the first time that Cover Whale has experimented with safety-enhancing technology. In January, the trucking insurer announced a Nexar dash cam partnership that would see it roll out the company's AI cameras; then, earlier this month, it started using Devron’s federated data science platform to “develop and train AI models" to better detect driver risk.

Cover Whale will hope that using AI-powered dash cam technology will allow it to unlock the next chapter of growth. Last May, the New York-based insurtech, which was only founded in 2019, announced it had reached the US$100mn premium milestone.