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Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. plans to launch a pilot program in 2012 to base premiums on onboard telematics. The program will bring Hartford in line with other insurance companies like Progressive, State Farm, and Allstate.

The program will be called True Lane and will roll out  ''in the first half of 2012,'' according to Andy Napoli, the president of Hartford’s consumer markets division. This move may help Hartford better compete with Progressive, the leader in telematic based insurance rates. Progressive's Snapshot program is available in most U.S. states and uses a small device that plugs into a car’s onboard diagnostic computer. Customers who volunteer to install the device can get a markdown on their auto insurance of as much as 30%, but currently do not face rate increases based on the information collected.

Insurers normally pool drivers into ''groups'': auto insurance for teen drivers, single men, young drivers, etc, but telematics recognize individual habits, helping to lower premiums. By entering the telematic market Hartford hopes ''to stay at the leading edge of pricing sophistication,'' according to Napoli. ''This capability has really redefined the way we think about pricing auto insurance.''