GPS equipment saves insurance money

What is the connection between a thief, a satellite, a mobile phone and an insurance company? The object that brings all of them together is a car, usually a very expensive one.

The buyer of such a car must first get a Casco insurance and then have an alarm system installed, a system as complex as possible with which the car thieves have not had time to become familiar.

Specialists say an experienced thief would have no problem deactivating an alarm in 15 to 30 seconds and taking off with the car in question.

A widely publicised case by mid last week showed there is, however, a way to divert thieves: a car monitoring system by GPS satellites. Which works not only in Romania, but also in every European country where MobilRom has roaming agreements.

The equipment provides for a precise location of the car, alerting the owner by an SMS message on a high-power mobile telephone using the Dialog service, as well as blocking the car’s engine.

“We have recovered every single vehicle attacked by thieves so far. This is why insurance companies have started to grant important premium cuts for those having GPS equipment installed on their car,” said Liviu Muresan, manager of INR Assistance, the sole dealer and operator of the Sat Guard Monitor service in Romania. The cuts operated reach 15-23% of the premium.

“Until now, we have had contracts concluded with Allianz-?iriac Asigurari, Generali, SAR Transilvania, Ardaf, Omniasig and Metropol and we are in talks with Asirom and Grup AS,” Muresan specified.

This is how it works: the importer of the car (Chrysler Jeep Import, Toyo Motor Porsche Romania, Syncro-Mitsubishi), the leasing company respectively, which has a contract with INR Assistance, advises the client to have the GPS system installed, explaining them the safety features, as well as the incentives granted by the insurer.

The GPS equipment installed on the car costs $950 VAT exclusive, in addition to the assembly, which takes up about 10 hours and costs $250, the activation fee ($15) and the monthly charge ($25), says Madalin Rusu, INR Assistance general manager. “The assembly is done only by car repair shops authorised by us, so that we can make sure the car’s own systems are not damaged,” Rusu explains.