Common Motors Co.
is launching a car-insurance enterprise based mostly on the thought its autos can remotely monitor drivers’ habits and set insurance coverage charges accordingly.

The Detroit-based auto maker will provide insurance coverage branded beneath its OnStar connected-car service, which comes put in on all GM autos in North America, the corporate stated Wednesday. Clients who enroll conform to have their driving habits tracked, and people who obey the pace restrict, keep away from sudden stops and follow different good-driving habits will likely be rewarded with cheaper charges, GM stated.

For a lot of its historical past, GM supplied insurance coverage to drivers, ending the enterprise when it unloaded its GMAC financial-services arm in phases to boost money across the time of its 2009 chapter.

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As extra new automobiles are offered with built-in web connections, automotive firms are branching into companies that intention to capitalize on the rising reams of information generated by a car’s onboard computer systems and sensors. They’re utilizing it for the whole lot from flagging potential mechanical hassle to permitting drivers to order their morning espresso from the car’s multimedia contact display.

“Who is aware of extra about your car than the individuals who manufactured it?” stated Andrew Rose, president of GM’s newly shaped OnStar Insurance coverage Providers.

Nonetheless, the efforts have been gradual to catch on, partly as a result of a few of those self same companies—from navigation to parking—are simply out there on drivers’ smartphones, analysts say. GM believes the info it could actually gather immediately from its autos will ship more-precise data than insurance coverage firms can now entry.

GM will start a pilot this week for its personal staff in Arizona and plans to supply it nationwide later in 2021, Mr. Rose stated. The corporate will companion with a subsidiary of American Household Insurance coverage to underwrite the insurance policies.

So-called usage-based insurance coverage insurance policies have emerged as one of many extra promising makes use of for connected-car information, analysts say. Insurance coverage firms for years have been providing drivers reductions for good driving, counting on moveable units or smartphone apps to maintain tabs on the automotive’s actions.

Some auto makers present driving information to insurance coverage firms to assist join their homeowners to raised insurance coverage charges, although few have gone a step additional to supply their very own plans.
Tesla Inc.
makes use of information from its automobiles to supply insurance coverage to clients.
Ford Motor Co.
final month stated it will give car homeowners entry to cheaper insurance coverage by beaming information from the automotive to a knowledge alternate utilized by many carriers to crunch charges.

The variety of auto-insurance insurance policies in North America that use digitally-logged information from the automotive is anticipated to develop to just about 50 million in 2023, from about 10.6 million on the finish of 2018, in keeping with Berg Perception, a Sweden-based analysis agency.

GM lately has been exploring a technique to return to the insurance coverage enterprise through the use of information from its clients’ autos, Mr. Rose stated.

To start out, the corporate will set charges very like a typical insurer, counting on conventional elements similar to ZIP Code or the quantity of driving the policyholder does, Mr. Rose stated. Finally, GM will extra closely weigh driving habits and different variables in figuring out charges. Finally, it might even calculate the quantity of instances security options similar to emergency braking are deployed, he stated.

One other instance: GM might monitor whether or not tires are inflated correctly, which improves stopping distance and reduces the chance of crashes, Mr. Rose stated.

Working an insurance coverage division ought to assist GM put together for a day when it could provide a business driverless-car service, Mr. Rose stated. Future autonomous robotic taxis have the potential to upend the auto-insurance market by eliminating human-caused crashes, although auto makers could have to insure their automobiles, he stated.

Automotive firms are gravitating to companies that depend on particular data from the car that third-party app builders aren’t in a position to simply replicate, says Brian Rhodes, a analysis and evaluation supervisor for linked automobiles at IHS Markit.

“The auto maker has extra information at its fingertips that may tie into a novel rating and supply extra worth for insurance coverage functions,” Mr. Rhodes stated.

Write to Mike Colias at Mike.Colias@wsj.com