By 2031, one in six people globally will be aged 60 or over – rising to one in four by 2050. As life expectancy increases, so does the need to support safe and independent mobility for older adults. In the UK, the number of drivers over the age of 65 is set to grow significantly over the coming decades. Yet older drivers often face barriers to accessing affordable motor insurance, as conventional models rely heavily on age as a risk factor.
Mind Foundry, a tech company spin-out from the University of Oxford, is addressing this challenge with an AI-powered system that analyses driving behaviour directly. Using telematics and dashcam data, the system identifies patterns of risk based on actual driving behaviour – moving beyond age-based assumptions. The solution has two components: environmental risk models that quantify risk based on location and driving conditions, and personalised models that assess individual driving patterns. This approach reduces bias in insurance decisions and supports older drivers in understanding and improving their own driving safety.
This project addresses a clear economic opportunity: older drivers already make up a significant part of the UK’s £21.9 billion car insurance market, with over 5.7 million licensed drivers aged 70 or above. By fostering collaboration across sectors, the project aims to improve access to affordable motor insurance for older drivers. It also seeks to enhance road safety through personalised feedback and contribute to a more inclusive and transparent insurance industry.
With support from Innovate UK, Mind Foundry has been able to fast-track the project. Commenting on the funding, Alessandra Tosi, Project Lead at Mind Foundry said,
Innovate UK really allowed us to start this work sooner than planned. Whilst the market isn’t quite ready for a new insurance product today, we now have a clear path forward – and the technology is already being applied in other projects.
To hear more from the Mind Foundry team, please watch our panel discussion on Digital Tools for Inclusion and Empowerment from the UK National Showcase: Next Generation Professional and Financial Services via YouTube.
You can learn more about the joint venture between Mind Foundry and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance (ANDI) and Aioi Nissay Dowa Europe (AND-E) on the Aioi R&D Lab – Oxford webpage.
This project has been supported by the Innovate UK and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
Filmed in late summer of 2024. All data and events mentioned are accurate as of that time.