Allstate Launches Star Driver® to Help Protect Young Drivers

Company is first major insurer to market with mobile smartphone telematics app in support of families and safety

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Jun 05, 2014, 09:16 ET

NORTHBROOK, Ill., June 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Wondering how your teenage driver really behaves behind the wheel? There's now an app for that. Allstate continues its legacy of teen safe driving education and advocacy with Star Driver, a smartphone based tool powered by the new Drivewise^® Mobile app that helps identify and teach safe driving behaviors.

Allstate logo. (PRNewsFoto/Allstate Insurance Company) (PRNewsFoto/) (PRNewsFoto/)

With Star Driver(R) powered by the new Drivewise(R) Mobile app, Allstate becomes the first major insurer to take telematics mobile, while rewarding safe driving by teens and supporting families and safety. (PRNewsFoto/Allstate Insurance Company)

Star Driver empowers parents and their teenage drivers to focus on safe driving at an early age. Available countrywide, the new program offers a driving agreement between parents and their teens to establish expectations and parameters. Both the parents and teens agree on limits about where, when and how fast the teen is allowed to drive. Parents can be alerted with a text message or email if the teen violates part of the agreement.

"As a father with teen drivers in our house, I know it can be a very anxious time for families," says Steve Sorenson, Allstate's Executive Vice President of Product Operations and the company's national spokesperson for its teen safe driving advocacy. "It can take time to gain the experience and knowledge to be a smart driver. We're building these tools to help coach teens and provide parents with greater peace of mind. Our telematics work is focused on innovations that make the roads safer and save young lives. We're changing the way people think about insurance by providing a complete customer experience emphasizing safety, connectedness, convenience and value. "

Star Driver is powered by the same telematics based platform known as Drivewise, which has moved to a mobile version in Montana, New Hampshire and Nebraska. The Drivewise Mobile app collects a driver's speed, time of day, and hard braking events along their route. It continues to encourage safe driving while rewarding safe drivers with savings on their auto insurance.

Star Driver and Drivewise Mobile offer a unique and easy way for customers who care about safe driving to be connected when and where they desire through their smartphone. Data is collected without any device plugged into the vehicle. This provides parents with an objective view of how their teen is driving to help facilitate conversations with their young drivers. The program can validate good driving behavior as well as suggest improvement areas. And, for teens, Star Driver reinforces good driving behavior by awarding points and badges for staying within the bounds of their agreement.

Allstate customers can download the Drivewise Mobile app countrywide to use the Star Driver feature. It's available in Google Play and the iTunes App Store. The mobile telematics end of the program is expected to roll out in additional states throughout the course of the year.

"Through offerings such as Drivewise and Star Driver, Allstate is leveraging technology and connecting consumers to bring out the good in their lives and protect what matters most," says Pete Corrigan, Senior Vice President of Allstate Technology and Operations.

Star Driver and Drivewise Mobile are part of Allstate's broader "connected consumer" strategy to address the unique insurance needs of customers and will continue to see features added in the future that benefit drivers everywhere. The overall Drivewise telematics program is now in 39 states and the District of Columbia. To date, customers using Drivewise have driven nearly 3 billion miles over the course of more than 110 million hours on the road.

About Allstate
The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer, protecting approximately 16 million households from life's uncertainties through its Allstate, Encompass, Esurance and Answer Financial brand names and Allstate Financial business segment. Allstate is widely known through the slogan "You're In Good Hands With Allstate^®." The Allstate brand's network of small businesses offers auto, home, life and retirement products and services to customers in the United States and Canada. In 2013, The Allstate Foundation, Allstate, its employees and agency owners gave $29 million to support local communities. Allstate employees and agency owners donated 200,000 hours of service across the country.