Telematics CEO to Speak at Upcoming Auto Insurance Forum

Press Release



DALLAS-FORT WORTH, TX -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 04/15/2005 -- The president and CEO of ATX Group, the world's second largest telematics service provider to the automotive industry, will outline the potential benefits to the insurance industry of remote access to data generated from telematics-enabled vehicles at the annual Auto Insurance Report National Conference, April 17-19, in Naples, Florida.



Steve Millstein has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of ATX and other predecessor companies merged within ATX for nearly eight years. His involvement in the telematics industry goes back to the 1996 Lincoln RESCU program, the first telematics program launched on a consumer vehicle.



ATX also participated several years ago with the Progressive group of insurance companies in one of the first pilot programs involving the application of telematics on consumer vehicles for auto insurance purposes. That test program involved the use of GPS satellite location technology in the vehicle to determine when and how much the vehicle traveled to customize an insurance premium that more closely matched the vehicle owner's actual travel patterns. In addition, many auto insurance carriers offer discounts of individual comprehensive coverage premiums to subscribers of telematics services because of the service's ability to quickly locate and recover a stolen vehicle.



While the auto insurance industry has monitored closely the growth of the telematics industry because of these aforementioned capabilities, Millstein emphasizes there is other vehicle data that can be tapped through the telematics system that could help insurance carriers lower their costs and costs to consumers.



Telematics involves the integration within the vehicle of wireless communications; in-vehicle electronics; hands-free interactive or automated voice technology; positioning technology; and off-vehicle data management.



Nearly four million cars in North America are equipped with telematics systems.



Based in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area and Düsseldorf, Germany, ATX Group is the world's second largest provider of telematics services for the automobile industry, serving both North America and Europe. ATX telematics services are designed to provide enhanced safety, security and driving convenience to vehicle owners. These services include location-specific emergency and roadside assistance, automatic collision notification, stolen vehicle recovery, remote diagnostics and real-time traffic and navigation assistance. ATX, the largest independent telematics provider not owned by an automobile manufacturer or telecommunications firm, also provides telematics services designed to help automobile manufacturers and their affiliated dealerships to use telematics data to reduce costs, enhance vehicle servicing, and more closely manage customer relationships. ATX services are provided to vehicle owners through the brand names of its customers -- Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Maybach, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.