UK Motor Insurers Are Locked in a Data Arms Race
The winners spot risks others cannot - and underwrite them more accurately. For decades the formula has been two-dimensional: car + person. In 2025 that view is more than outdated; it is a competitive liability.
Enter the Third Dimension: Property
Knowing where a vehicle lives adds the missing layer of context, turning a blurry postcode average into a pin-sharp, property-level insight.
Beyond the Postcode: Why Location Risk Is Hyper-local
A postcode is a blunt instrument. One code can cover:
Victorian Terraces: On-street parking only.
Semis: Narrow driveways.
Detached Homes: Alarms and double garages.
Treat those addresses as identical and you inevitably mis-price a large slice of your book.
One Street, Completely Different Profiles
Move just a few doors and exposure changes: traffic speed, natural surveillance, lighting, proximity to rat-runs — all factors a postcode average ignores. Hyper-local variation demands hyper-local data.
Unpacking the Property Dimension with Chimnie
Chimnie’s API delivers property-level attributes in milliseconds, letting you answer questions a postcode never could.
1) Where Is the Car Kept? Garage, Driveway, or Kerbside Roulette
Theft & Vandalism: Vehicles stored in locked garages suffer far fewer theft and vandalism claims than those left kerbside. UK theft totals climbed above 130,000 in 2024, with clear regional hotspots (source 1, source 2).
Accidental Damage: Cars parked on busy roads are statistically more likely to be clipped, keyed, or scraped during manoeuvres.
2) Who Lives There? Property as a Proxy for Risk Profile
Home-owner vs Renter: Tenure can indicate financial stability and claim propensity (used responsibly and in line with FCA guidance).
Vehicle-Care Proxy: Higher-value, well-maintained properties often correlate with secure storage and regular vehicle maintenance.
3) What’s Happening Nearby? Congestion, Construction, Chaos
Traffic Density: Flag addresses on or close to arterial routes.
Planning Permissions: Nearby construction can mean extra HGV movements, debris, shifting road layouts — all risk multipliers.
Neighbourhood Change: Redevelopment reshapes risk long before census data catches up.
The Chimnie Advantage: Your Partner in Property Intelligence
Chimnie does not replace your existing data stack - it enriches it, dropping property intelligence straight into your pricing and underwriting engines through a single, developer-friendly API.
Plug-and-Play REST Endpoint
99.99% Uptime, Sub-100 ms Latency
Fully GDPR-Compliant, Privacy by Design
Ready to Add the Third Dimension?
Book a demo or email hello@chimnie.com and start seeing the full picture today.
