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Business Loyalty cards and insurance Every little helps
商業 購物卡與保險 每一點信息都有大用
As it pushes into finance, Tesco's Clubcard gives it a competitive edge
隨著特斯科向金融行業進軍，會員卡制度賦予了它競爭優勢（不確定）
SOME young drivers get tanked up and wrap their cars round lampposts; others drive carefully, and sober.
一些年輕的司機給車加滿油，把車停在路燈柱旁；其他的卻細心駕駛保持清醒。（此處我認為可大膽以為 外行看熱鬧，內行看門道）。
Insurers would love to collect more background information on the personal habits of those buying motor, household and life policies, but do not want to put off potential customers with intrusive questionnaires.
保險公司愿意收集那些購買汽車，家居用品及人壽保險的人們的個人習慣信息，但是卻不愿意用有侵擾性的問卷惹他們的潛在客戶不高興。
So they end up pooling groups of people by such basic factors as age, occupation and postcode, which means that some low-risk customers are lumped in with risky ones and subsidise their cover.
所以他們最終選擇收集一些人的基本信息，如年齡、職業和郵編，著意味著高風險顧客和低風險顧客聚集在一起，這樣可以彌補他們的損失。
If only insurers could stealthily gather a few titbits about their potential policyholders' consumption habits.
如果保險公司能夠暗地里得到他們潛在的投保人的一些消費習慣就好了。
Such hints might help them more accurately target those customers least likely to make claims, and attract them with better rates.
這些暗示信息可能幫助他們更加準確的找到最不可能索賠的顧客，用更加實惠的保險費率吸引他們。
As it happens, Tesco routinely collects such information from holders of its Clubcard loyalty card.
恰巧，特斯科按照慣例會收集其會員購物卡主的這些信息。
As it bulks up in financial services, that may give Britain's largest supermarket chain an edge over traditional insurers.
隨著他們金融服務業務的膨脹，這給了英國最大的超市連鎖店超越傳統保險公司的優勢。
To give an obvious example, it would be worth offering pet insurance to someone who has started buying kitty-litter.
舉個明顯的例子，向一個開始購買貓咪使用的褥草的人提供寵物保險再合適不過了。
Buying lots of booze does not make you a drunk-driver, but someone who buys little or none seems less likely to be one.
買很多就不能說明你會是個醉駕者，但是不買或是很少買酒的人成為醉駕者的可能性就小多了。
Buyers of window locks are likely to be more security-conscious, and so on.
購買窗鎖的人們可能更加關注安全，等等。
Tesco declined to discuss how it uses Clubcard data for this article.
特斯科拒絕談論他們是怎樣利用會員信息的。
But a group of students at the London School of Economics carried out a class project in which they made several applications for Tesco car insurance.
但是一群來自倫敦經濟學院的學生實施了一個計劃，他們想特斯科提交了幾份汽車險申請。
When they gave the number of an unused Clubcard it earned a 1% discount. When they gave the same personal details but quoted the numbers of heavily used Clubcards, the discounts varied greatly, reaching 18%.
他們提供沒有使用過的會員卡號時，只得到了1%的優惠，但是當他們提供了相同的個人信息，但提供了使用很頻繁的會員卡號時，折扣變動很大，甚至達到18%.
To paraphrase Tesco's slogan, it seems that every little scrap of information helps.
或許可以這樣解釋特斯科公司的標語，似乎點點滴滴的小信息都有大用處。
