Dolphin Technologies Founder and CEO, Harald Trautsch is an electronic engineer by trade and education, and he has been developing security products for the automotive sector since the 90s.
But it was a dramatic and life-saving incident that really set him on the founder’s path. Today, Dolphin Technologies, which launched 22 years ago, is at the forefront of telematics innovation globally. Insurtech Insights caught up with him to find out more.
Can you tell us about your background and why you decided to launch Dolphin Technologies?
Absolutely. Dolphin celebrated its 22nd birthday this year. Our journey didn’t begin in the insurance industry, though. My background is in electronic engineering, specifically developing security products for the automotive sector. During that time, we created a product that allowed users to start their parking heater remotely using their phones. While this may be unfamiliar to those in hotter regions, it’s quite popular in central and northern Europe, as well as some parts of North America. It enables car owners to warm up their vehicles to a comfortable temperature before getting inside. This project marked my first encounter with telematics. We also incorporated a feature to detect car crashes.
Can you share an incident where a Dolphin Technologies product saved someone’s life?
Of course. I vividly remember when a person came to our office and expressed their deep gratitude for our product. They shared that our technology had not only saved their life but also the life of their spouse. The person couldn’t thank us enough, as our product had spared them and their family from immeasurable pain. It was an eye-opening moment for us, and we realised this was the path we wanted to pursue. We started exploring aftermarket products but quickly realised that insurance companies were the primary stakeholders who could benefit from accident prevention. From there, our journey in the insurance space began.
At that time, Dolphin had not been launched and we were essentially a three-person entrepreneurship venture. Our technology consisted of several boxes of electronics, including the main unit, phone unit, GPS unit, and voice unit, all connected by numerous wires. In this specific incident, the person involved in the accident collided with another car, and both vehicles ended up on the edge of an abyss. Tragically, the occupants of the other car did not survive.
However, the individuals saved by our technology found themselves hanging precariously over the abyss, unable to access their phones due to being trapped by their seatbelts. Thankfully, our system automatically reported the accident to a security operations centre. Firefighters were promptly dispatched to the scene, securing the car and rescuing the individuals. It was a remarkable moment where technology played a crucial role in averting a potentially tragic outcome.
Were there any subsequent developments related to this incident?
Interestingly, many years later, we hired a new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). During a Christmas dinner for our company, we discovered an extraordinary coincidence – it turned out that the CTO’s parents were the individuals saved by our technology. They had never disclosed the severity of their accident to their family, so it was a truly breathtaking moment for all of us. It reinforced the importance of our work and the impact it can have on people’s lives.
That incident actually happened before Dolphin Technologies launched, around 1998 or 1999. It’s amazing to think that it’s been 25 years since then. At that time, having such advanced technology in your car was quite rare and fortunate.
How did you realise the demand for your technology within the insurance industry?
By venturing into risk mitigation, it became clear that insurance companies were the ones who stood to gain the most from accident prevention. Initially, we explored aftermarket products, but it didn’t take long for us to realise that insurance companies were the natural fit for our technology. We recognised their advantage in promoting safety and reducing accidents. So, we directed our focus towards collaborating with insurance companies and offering them our solutions. Over time, our offerings expanded from automatic crash notifications to features such as emergency call buttons, stolen vehicle tracking, and driving behaviour analysis.
What differentiates Dolphin Technologies from other market contenders?
In the insurance telematics industry, only a fraction of insurance companies currently utilise the technology, and even among those that do, it’s often limited to specific segments such as young drivers or trial periods. It’s not fully integrated into their overall value proposition.
One main difference with Dolphin is our focus on making the technology affordable. When telematics emerged in the early 2000s, the costs were significant, ranging from $80 to $150 per customer per year, including installation and maintenance. Over time, prices decreased, but they still remained unsustainable for large-scale implementation. Our goal was to create an ecosystem within the telematics world that insurance companies could adopt at a much lower cost, in the lower single digit euros or dollars.
Additionally, we approach telematics from a different perspective. While many companies use it primarily for risk assessment and pricing, we believe in using it to make everyone a better driver. Our hypothesis is that nobody wants to have an accident in the first place. Instead of solely focusing on identifying risk levels, we provide insurance companies with real-time communication tools to engage with drivers and help them improve. We believe that self-inflicted accidents are mainly the result of wrong decisions or missing information.
By preventing wrong decisions and filling information gaps, we can assist everyone in avoiding accidents altogether. For example, our research showed that 25% of accidents occur within the first three minutes of a trip, and 40% of all trips in central Europe have a duration of less than 10 minutes. By encouraging people to avoid very short trips, we can significantly reduce accident rates. This approach benefits not only individuals with lower accident frequencies but also insurance companies by improving their combined ratios and multiplying their earnings.
Interesting! Is the higher accident/risk rate during short trips due to rushed decision-making or a sense of urgency?
It’s not necessarily that a 10-minute trip is less risky than a three-minute trip. The key factor is that it’s easier to avoid a five-minute trip than it is to avoid a 10-minute trip. The highest risk lies within the initial minutes of a journey, and the risk increases again after around 40 to 45 minutes. Avoiding very short trips can have a significant impact on accident rates. However, this is not the only critical aspect. Let me provide a couple more examples.
Currently, I’m in Sardinia, where the temperature is around 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit), and accidents increase by 18% in such extreme weather conditions. By timely communicating to people, say, a day before, about the severe weather conditions expected the next day, we can encourage them to either work from home, use public transport, or at least drive with extra caution.
Another example is accidents involving animals. There are two specific days in a year when this becomes particularly dangerous. It happens when we switch from or to daylight savings time, as we adjust the clock one hour forward or backward, but animals don’t understand this change. It’s crucial to have many interactions and communications with customers. It’s the combination of these interactions that helps them become safer drivers. It’s not about sending every piece of information to everyone but rather contextualising it, timing it appropriately, and delivering the right information at the right point in time.
So, it’s about providing personalised responses to individuals?
Yes, exactly. Personalisation is key. There is so much more value in offering products and services that are contextualised to customers’ specific situations. For instance, offering travel insurance at airports or accident insurance at ski resorts. Once we understand the customer’s behaviour and activities, it opens up a world of possibilities for marketers, product owners within insurance companies to communicate in ways they’ve never done before. It gives them the freedom and tools to engage with customers on a highly personalised level, tailored to their unique circumstances and needs.
The automotive industry is facing various challenges, especially with the development of electric vehicles (EVs). How can insurers address these challenges?
While I’m not an expert in the automotive industry, it’s worth noting that the car industry has been experiencing growth in Europe and North America, with consecutive months of double-digit increases in car sales. Challenges exist in the Chinese market, particularly for German automotive manufacturers venturing into EVs. However, my focus is on the person, not the car itself. Insurance companies sell more than just motor insurance; they offer life insurance, health insurance, legal insurance, and various other products. If insurers prioritise the customer rather than solely focusing on the car, these challenges can be overcome.
On average, cars are driven for only 4-5% of their lifetime, meaning individuals spend around 50 minutes to an hour in a car each day. This indicates that there is life outside the car and numerous situations where we can assist people. For example, we are currently implementing a feature that enables automatic crash notification solely through smartphones. While some competitors argue that using in-car hardware provides more accurate data, we prefer to equip a larger number of people with 80% security rather than a smaller group with 90% security.
Additionally, people engage in other modes of transport such as bikes, motorcycles, or skiing. Understanding crash behaviour based on smartphones alone is invaluable as it allows us to support customers across different transportation modes. Our focus is always on the person and their well-being, not solely on the car as an asset.
How do you envision the future development of the telematics industry in the coming years?
Looking ahead, one potential scenario for the automotive industry, which may not be favourable for insurers, is selling cars already insured for the first month. The automotive manufacturer would assess driving behaviour, share anonymised data with insurance companies to determine price points, and then allow customers to choose their preferred insurance provider. In such a commoditised perspective, brand loyalty becomes less significant, and customer value, often in terms of price, takes precedence. However, if insurance companies utilise technology to establish a strong relationship with individuals, demonstrating that being with them adds value, a different outcome can emerge.
For example, consider receiving a push notification informing you about an approaching hailstorm where your car is parked, allowing you to relocate it to a safer location. This type of personalised and valuable communication goes beyond a mere discount and fosters loyalty because it demonstrates care and concern for the customer. I believe we will witness increased commoditization in the market, particularly as automotive manufacturers follow Tesla’s lead in providing vehicle data for free, or at a lower price point as they currently do.
This will create a significant shift in telematics. As telematics service providers, we must focus on delivering added value, contextualising communication, understanding location, behaviour, and environment. By using this information effectively, we can create exceptional customer experiences, whether through upselling, enhancing security and safety, or providing valuable information.
As a founder and CEO for over two decades, what traits do you believe are essential for effective leadership?
What we found to be effective is practicing total transparency. Being open and honest about what we know and what we don’t know, while also having a clear plan, helps people understand the direction we’re heading in. Building trust among our team members is crucial. A strong vision is also vital because people are drawn to believing in something. Past actions and achievements provide insights into how individuals will navigate difficult situations in the future.
Secondly, we faced challenges when companies began aggressively poaching our IT personnel by making enticing offers. In these situations, it was important to make our team understand that every promise that seems too good to be true has a price tag and potential downsides. By demonstrating the value and purpose of our work, we were able to retain the vast majority of our employees.
Building a culture of trust and appreciation is essential. Additionally, aligning employees with a vision and purpose they truly believe in is crucial. In regions where basic needs are met, it becomes less about monetary compensation and more about finding meaning and purpose in their work. Building trust and maintaining a genuine connection with our team is key.
What new developments can we expect from Dolphin Technologies in the next 12 to 18 months?
We recently launched MOVE, a software development kit (SDK) that allows insurance companies to incorporate our technology into their existing apps. This SDK not only focuses on telematics and scoring, but also provides a comprehensive view of a person’s daily activities. It enables insurance companies to offer marketing automation and build customised journeys based on user behaviour.
Additionally, we are currently working on implementing automatic impact detection not only for incidents within cars, but also for accidents while biking, motorcycling, or skiing. We aim to expand our services beyond the car and focus even more on the individual.
Furthermore, we are experimenting with variables to gather more information on people’s health conditions. These are the key areas of focus on our product roadmap for the next 12 to 18 months.
How does the accident detection feature work across multiple activities?
Our accident detection feature uses the sensors within a smartphone, such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers, to analyse the motion behaviour of the phone. By understanding the mode of transport a person is using, we can apply different models to determine if an accident has occurred.
For skiing, we can identify the activity based on the location and other contextual information. Our machine learning algorithms and heuristics take into account the unique dynamics of each mode of transport. The goal is to provide accurate accident detection and notifications via our user’s smartphones.
So essentially, the app can recognise the mode of transport automatically without the user having to notify you?
Yes, that’s correct. Our technology leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to analyse the motion behaviour of the smartphone and determine the mode of transport without explicit user input. By understanding the context and behaviour, we can provide a comprehensive insurance coverage that extends to various activities, including travel and recreational pursuits like skiing. It’s about offering a travel package that covers all the events and activities during a person’s holiday or even their everyday life.
It seems like your approach transcends specific sectors and focuses more on overall safety and protection. How does that fit into the insurance industry?
It can be challenging to fit our product into a specific sector because our focus is on the person’s safety and well-being rather than a particular activity or asset. While traditional insurance products may categorise coverage based on specific sectors, our approach is more holistic, but our clients can choose from our menu of services in order to meet their strategic goals. Nevertheless our overall goal is to ensure the safety of individuals in any situation or mode of transport they find themselves in. We’re moving away from siloed coverage and embracing a broader perspective on insurance that encompasses all aspects of a person’s life.
What inspires you in the insurtech industry today?
As a problem solver and builder, I find inspiration in tackling challenges and making a positive impact on people’s lives. I am driven by the opportunity to help others and create happiness. Putting people’s needs first and seeing the appreciation for what we do motivates me.
Engaging with potential candidates and witnessing their enthusiasm for our work is also fulfilling. I firmly believe that what we are doing is making a difference and contributing to a better world. While there are numerous issues to address globally, such as climate crisis and energy challenges, I see our niche of keeping people safe during their travels as one way we can make a meaningful contribution.
Interview by Joanna England
Joanna England is an award-winning journalist and the Editor-in-Chief for Insurtech Insights. She has worked for 25 years in both the consumer and business space, and also spent 15 years in the Middle East, on national newspapers as well as leading events and lifestyle publications. Prior to Insurtech Insights, Joanna was the Editor-in-Chief for Fintech Magazine and Insurtech Digital. She was also listed by MPVR as one of the Top 30 journalist in Fintech and Insurtech in 2023.
