Telematics firm Wunelli bought by LexisNexis

Telematics data company Wunelli has been bought by Big Data provider LexisNexis for an undisclosed sum.

Wunelli has developed several prominent insurer telematics smartphone applications. Recent examples include AXA’s Van Mate app, RSA’s More Th>n Drive app and Co-op Insurance’s Young Driver app.

LexisNexis said that the combined LexisNexis and Wunelli data sets will result in one of the largest provider-held insurance telematics databases in the world.

LexisNexis insurance chief executive Bill Madison said: “Wunelli brings telematics expertise, solutions, scores and unique data assets, experience with hundreds of millions of miles of telematics data, that can help advance our telematics offering and provide our customers with greater return on investment, and faster speed to market.

“With usage-based insurance projected to grow to about 15-30% of the global auto insurance market in the coming years, our customers have communicated an increased need for a variety of telematics solutions to help them attract safer drivers, improve retention and avoid adverse selection.”

Wunelli director Sandy Dunn added: “LexisNexis and Wunelli share a complementary vision to provide the most comprehensive risk assessment solutions available to the insurance industry, and we look forward to combining our offerings.”