LexisNexis Selected for Horizon 2020 EU Consortium ‘SmashHit’, Working to Create Car Data Solutions

We’re excited to announce that LexisNexis Risk Solutions has been selected to become part of Project SmashHit – a project funded by the European Union – to play a key role together with consortium partner Volkswagen Group in enabling millions of consumers to benefit from connected car data. The project coordinator is Institut für angewandte Systemtechnik Bremen (ATB), who have deep knowledge in the research on car data as well as management of EU-funded projects.

The European Union has initiated several funded projects designed to increase consumer confidence in the use of personal data generated by mass internet connected devices. Project SmashHit is aimed at two specific use cases: automotive insurance and smart cities where the mass Internet connected device is the connected car.

The Project SmashHit consortium has been tasked with creating a secure platform that will increase consumer trust and confidence in personal connected car data sharing for specific use cases.      

LexisNexis Risk Solutions will lead the automotive insurance use case in partnership with Volkswagen Group. Consumer studies* have shown that there is already wide acceptance and comfort regarding the use of vehicle and driving data for insurance. However, in a study conducted across Europe by LexisNexis Risk Solutions**, 84% of consumers expressed concerns over how their data would be used.

Utilising its experience supporting the insurance and car manufacturing markets in Europe and working closely with Volkswagen Group, LexisNexis Risk Solutions will focus on consumer consent for usage-based insurance (UBI), derived from connected car data.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions is the leading insurance data expert amongst nine EU entities who together have successfully bid to become part of the Project SmashHit consortium, leveraging company’s credentials as a trusted data custodian.

The consortium is part of Horizon 2020, the largest EU Research and Innovation programme ever formed with nearly €80 billion of funding available over seven years (2014 to 2020). 

Project SmashHit is a three-year initiative which has attracted circa €6 million funding from the EU, to support the emergence of data markets and the data economy. It has been tasked to create the platforms to ensure consumers remain in control of their data and its subsequent use.  It will also help enable secure sharing and trading of data with robust, automated controls on compliance.

Our role at LexisNexis Risk Solutions will focus upon:

• Working with the Project SmashHit to help define and create a consent certification platform that will boost consumer confidence that data is being used appropriately and legally
• Helping to ensure continuous traceability of consumer consent for data use and that consent levels can be monitored and benchmarked
• Enabling select EU insurance providers to have access to consented data to support UBI.

We’re pleased to have been selected for the SmashHit consortium as the opportunity to build consumer trust and uptake of usage-based insurance derived from data from the car is one of our passions. 

We fully understand the challenges presented in the connected car environment. We bring the data analytic skills needed to help consumers and businesses realize the benefits of the connected car in helping make the world’s drivers safer and achieving better insurance pricing.

*72% of people are happy to share vehicle data if it is anonymized, or with limited personal data (source: SBD Automotive Report, Connected Car & Mobility Consumer Survey, September 2019)

** 60% of drivers want telematics (source LexisNexis Risk Solutions study conducted February 2019. Total sample UK 3,025,  Spain 3,078, France 3,052 Italy 3,043, and Germany 3,017 drivers. LexisNexis Risk Solutions was not identified as sponsor of the research)

LexisNexis Risk Solutions, part of RELX, is a global data technology and advanced analytics leader, with customers in over 100 countries worldwide.

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