Volvo Launches 'Safety Coach' App to Monitor Driving and Potentially Lower Insurance Costs

Volvo is introducing a new optional safety app called "Safety Coach" that monitors driving habits to encourage safer behavior and potentially reduce insurance premiums. The app analyzes a driver's braking, acceleration, and cornering, providing real-time insights and personalized tips directly through the car's infotainment system.

Drivers will receive a "Safety Coach Score" out of 100, reflecting their driving over the past 14 days, with higher scores indicating smoother, more mindful driving. The app, a collaboration between Volvo Cars and Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), uses CMT's algorithms and data from Volvo's safety research. Excessive speeding, hard braking, aggressive cornering, and rapid acceleration can all impact the score, depending on their frequency, severity, and duration.

Rollout and Availability

The Safety Coach app is set to launch first in Sweden and Norway this August. It will be available for Volvo models from model year 2020 onwards that are equipped with a Google-based infotainment system. This includes popular models like the XC60 and XC90, as well as new electric models such as the ES90 saloon. The app will be rolled out globally to the US and other European markets following the initial launch, with insurance-related offers planned as part of this expansion.

Volvo has not yet announced an exact release date for the UK, but compatible models there will also be from model year 2020 onwards, excluding the EX30. The app will be available for the EX60, XC40, EX40, EC40, S60, V60, XC60, XC90, V90, EX90, and ES90.

Driving Insights and Privacy

According to Alexander Franke, global head of insurance at Volvo Cars, the Safety Coach is designed to support and encourage safer driving, not to penalize drivers. Sharing driving data with insurance companies is entirely optional. Drivers must choose to opt-in to Safety Coach and then separately choose to share data with an affiliated insurance partner. Personal data is processed to provide driving insights and is shared with Volvo Cars and its telematics technology provider, CMT. Drivers can opt out of Safety Coach at any time, at which point data collection ceases immediately.

Volvo states that it uses the latest technology, including AI, to improve safety and enhance the quality of life for its customers. The company also recently integrated Google Gemini into its vehicles to improve driver interaction and enjoyment.

Mikael Ljung Aust, driver behaviour expert at Volvo Cars, highlighted that predictability in driving, such as staying within expected speed ranges and avoiding abrupt maneuvers, helps prevent accidents. Tools like Safety Coach aim to help drivers develop safer everyday habits.

Precedents in Vehicle Safety Technology

Volvo is not the first automaker to implement such driving performance tracking. In 2024, Renault introduced a "Safety Score" system that provided drivers with a mark out of 100 for each journey. Marks were deducted if the vehicle's Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS), such as lane assist or automated emergency braking, intervened during a trip. These types of telematics-based insurance products have previously helped younger drivers reduce their premiums by allowing insurers to monitor their on-road behavior.