How Helpful is New Technology to Motorhome Owners

As we all know, technology is forever evolving and there are more and more ways to use them to your advantage when driving your motorhome. There are new iPhone apps, video cameras and more that could potentially speed up claims processes if you were to be involved in a collision.

The iPhone app ‘Jolt’ is free and drivers should mount their iPhone to the windscreen or dashboard and the app will store the video footage in case of an accident. Jolt archives data while filming the speed, vehicle direction and the impact of the collision. Mark Robinson from the company ‘Jolt’ has said: “The original concept of Jolt came to me following a minor road traffic accident. The incident should have been relatively simple to deal with but the other driver decided to claim it wasn’t his responsibility despite us both knowing that wasn’t true. The claims process proved to be incredibly frustrating. It took far too long and the system they were using seemed far too archaic.

“We started to think about ways in which the process could be improved. What we’ve developed is a platform that harnesses the power of an individual smartphone. I believe what we’ve created is a proposition that will reduce insurance fraud by an order of magnitude whilst speeding up claims and reduce driver frustration.”

Dash-cams are also a great way to record your journey and potentially capture any incidents. Aguri have released a Sat Nav specifically for motorhomes that has a built-in dash cam. The Sat Nav features information on over 30, 000 specialist motorhome and caravan POI’s including Camping and Caravanning Club and The Caravan Club. The Sat Nav will only show you routes that are applicable for motorhomes or caravans and the dash cam is HD which records 24 hours a day.

Smartphone and tablet apps can also connect to dash cams and can be used to update motorhome owners about where their vehicle is at all times. It also sends the owner alerts if there are any power cuts or if the motorhome is moved within the ignition being on. These kinds of technologies may be able to help you when putting in a claim however each insurance company varies.

If you are thinking of purchasing one of these, you need to ensure that you don’t forget the usual safety measures that you would carry out on your motorhome for example locking doors and shutting windows because your insurance wont cover you if that is the case.

Ernie Bray, CEO or ACD in San Diego, California said: “Beyond simply radically changing the dynamics of auto insurance rates, telematics and the wealth of data accumulated can alter the way auto claims are handled,” said Bray. “First notice of loss could happen instantly without the customer even making a telephone call. Data from sensors would instantly report details including location, panels and parts damaged and potentially instant estimates. Furthermore, current black box systems for accident reconstruction are difficult to review and specialists are needed. With newer applications coming into the market, data will be easier to parse allowing adjuster access to information they never had before such as speed, location, braking, exact moments in time.”

These technologies will keep progressing so hopefully soon we can stop any fraudulent drivers or having to claim for accidents that aren’t our fault!

Photo by matt / CC BY-SA 2.0