(Photo credit: Adam Kliczek.)

TransUnion (Chester, Pa.) has launched its new National Driving Record solution for the personal and commercial property/casualty and life insurance industries. Characterized by the vendor as a one-stop solution, National Driving Record combines DriverRisk court records with state Motor Vehicle Reports (MVRs) for what TransUnion says is a more comprehensive view of a person’s driving record at a reduced cost. This new capability is accomplished by bringing together TransUnion’s collection of traffic-related court records with national state MVRs, the vendor says.

“Carriers want a cost-effective way to analyze data about driver behavior to mitigate risk, while also maintaining profitable growth and providing accurate rates for applicants and policyholders,” comments Mark McElroy, executive VP and head of TransUnion’s insurance business unit. “DriverRisk flags insurance applicants with violations early in the underwriting process to determine when an MVR is needed, which directly leads to cost savings.”

TransUnion explains the need for such a solution, citing that even though approximately 75 percent of drivers have clean driving records, the insurance industry still spends more than $1 billion annually pulling MVRs on their driving customers, according to an internal TransUnion analysis.

MVRs Complement Court Record Solution

Explaining how the new solution works, TransUnion says that insurance applicants or policyholders are screened against the vendor’s court record violation database. The database then rapidly identifies those who have prior driving/traffic violation activity, so that insurers can eliminate pulling MVRs on drivers with clean records. On average, insurance carriers report saving 30-50 percent on their total MVR expenses with their use of TransUnion’s current DriverRisk solution, the vendor claims. With National Driving Record, TransUnion stresses, state MVRs now complement the court record solution for a national solution.

Because of its use of advanced search logic, the TransUnion says that the National Driving Record solution also enables insurance companies to capture valuable insight into:

• Convictions from a prior state (which may be associated with a previous Driver’s License Number), regardless of a change in name or address;
• Convictions while driving outside of resident state;
• Tickets that are still active (not yet adjudicated as guilty).

TransUnion database includes approximately 6.1 million violations for drivers who received a ticket in a state other than where they lived. This expanded view of a person’s driving record means that insurers can receive state MVRs that are, in effect, enhanced with court records, where such data is available, the vendor says.

“TransUnion is dedicated to finding innovative ways information can be used to help businesses and consumers,” McElroy add. “DriverRisk allows multiple configuration options so carriers can customize the solution to fit their business needs while also empowering them to selectively order MVRs to optimize spend.”

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