Insurance is typically viewed as an old-school industry that’s not very sexy. But Cambridge Mobile Telematics VP Ryan McMahon thinks insurance gets a bad wrap in that respect. As the latest guest on Street Fight’s Heard on the Street podcast, his company is innovating actuarial work and safer roads.

McMahon’s firm accomplishes that by capitalizing on the powerful computer we all carry around (and drive around) in our pockets. Given all its sensors like GPS and accelerometers, the modern smartphone packs ample situational awareness. One of the things it can do is detect signals that indicate driving quality.

“It’s not using the apps on the phone or the data coming off the phone — it’s just looking at the sensors,” said McMahon. “It’s looking at the accelerometer, it’s using the gyroscope, the barometer and the GPS, to then determine all those risk factors, how they contribute to an individual, and then how to improve them. And ultimately, over time, we don’t just measure risk but improve drivers and make the roads safer.”

Listen here