Vitality Car Rating Qorus-NTT DATA Innovation in Insurance Awards 2025

Vitality Car Rating by Discovery Insure is a groundbreaking initiative aimed at enhancing the resale value of vehicles by leveraging driving behaviour, data analytics and actuarial techniques. The concept revolves around using over 20 billion kilometres of telematics data collected over 13 years to assess the condition of a vehicle and incentivise and reward good driving behaviour. The primary objective is to boost the resale value of well-maintained vehicles by up to 15%, thereby creating a comprehensive insurance and rewards ecosystem for clients.

Discovery Insure’s data provides the most comprehensive view about the vehicles insured, their owners and how they are driven. This data includes vehicle detail, accident details, information about the vehicle repair process, and any warranties on the vehicle.

Most importantly, it includes detailed information about driving behaviour such as: - Cold starts, where we identified that harsh driving at the start of the trip has a worse impact on the vehicle than if this is done in the middle of a trip. - Vertical oscillations, which measures the severity of the up and down movements of a vehicle, and - The type of mileage, whether the vehicle is usually driven in the city or on open roads. - And speeding relative to a vehicle’s power-to-weight ratio. Speeding significantly increases the risk of an accident but it is not necessarily bad for a car. For example, driving a high-performance vehicle such as a Porsche fast doesn’t have an impact on the wear and tear of a car as much as driving a Hyundai i10 on a highway at 220km/h.

Analysis of this data allows Discovery Insure to quantify the impact of driving behaviour on vehicle condition. The data shows that poor driving increases the likelihood of vehicle breakdowns, with poor drivers having a 28% higher claims frequency for breakdowns than good drivers. Similarly, those with higher accidental damage claims, higher mileage or significant driving in the city have a higher claims frequency for vehicle breakdowns. This data can then be modelled to determine the condition of a vehicle.

Vitality Car Ratings aims to address the gap in the South African second-hand vehicle market which is a growing market with 3.6 times more used vehicle registrations a month than new vehicle registrations. In the current vehicle resale market, dealers have access to cross-sectional data where the standard valuation methods do not take driving behaviour into consideration. This means, sellers don’t always get a value that is representative of how well they have taken care of their vehicle. In addition, buyers in the second-hand vehicle market want peace of mind regarding the quality of the vehicle but receive limited information about the condition of the vehicle with which to make informed decisions. This can cause disappointment if the vehicle is in a worse-than-expected condition leading to increased costs for the buyer due to the increased level of repair and maintenance required. However, by augmenting dealer’s cross-sectional data with the significant longitudinal data Discovery Insure has on accident history and driving behaviour, the Vitality Car Rating model can provide a more accurate and fair assessment of a vehicle's condition. This is because data shows that good drivers have a lower likelihood of vehicle breakdown claims and can preserve the value of their vehicles and should get a higher value when they sell it.

How it works: - Clients request their Vitality Car Rating certificate from Discovery Insure, which indicates the boost the vehicle qualifies for. - Vehicles will receive a rating out of 5 (with 5 being the best condition), based on factors that affect its condition such as claims history, driving behaviour and mileage type. - Clients unlock a boost of up to 15% of the vehicle’s value, based on the rating. - Clients go to partner dealerships and negotiate the base price for their vehicle. - Clients can then let the dealership know that they have a Vitality Car Rating certificate which will boost the resale value of their vehicle.

There are no direct competitors offering a similar comprehensive vehicle condition rating system tied to insurance and driving behaviour. Discovery Insure’s access to large data on driving behaviour provides a unique competitive edge in the market.

Each year, Discovery Insure aims to use learnings from the data and what is impacting South Africans to see how to enhance the product offering. Given current consumers pressure, the inspiration was to create a product that doesn’t require clients to pay or buy more. The objective was to use the data in a different way to find value that can be passed back to clients.

Several departments were involved in the development and implementation of the Vitality Car Rating, including Product Development, Marketing, Technical Marketing, Systems, Discovery Telematics Services and Partner Relations. This cross-departmental collaboration ensures that the project is well-rounded, the results are accurate and that the customer journey is seamless. Our partners, Weelee and Motus, both second-hand vehicle providers, play a crucial role in this collaboration, further enhancing the credibility and reach of the Vitality Car Rating.

Vitality Car Rating has been favourably received by the market. In February 2025, following a media release event, the number of Vitality Car Rating certificates generated increased by over 20%. Of the Vitality Car Rating certificates that have been generated, over 60% of vehicles earned a rating of 4 or more, providing clients with a significant boost on the resale value of their vehicle of 7.5% to 15%.

The Vitality Car Rating has the potential to revolutionize not only the second-hand vehicle market but other markets by providing a comprehensive and data-driven assessment of vehicle condition. The model can be applied to insurance pricing models; fleet, rental and other vehicle and risk management programmes; vehicle financing models and enhanced customer education. Overall, Vitality Car Rating represents a significant innovation in the insurance and automotive industries, providing tangible benefits for clients and setting a new standard for vehicle valuation.