Fleet risks – are you having lots of claims?
April 18, 2023If you run a small to medium sized enterprise in which more than two vehicles are used for business and private use, you will appreciate the benefits of fleet insurance.
By keeping the essential insurance of all your vehicles under a single umbrella, you have only one annual renewal date to monitor and manage (avoiding the risk of leaving any one of them uninsured) and you stand to save money on the overall cost of the insurance premiums.
While this will keep your vehicles protected against loss and damage, like any other general insurance, you will also want to avoid making excessive claims – not only will this affect your reputation and claims history with your insurers but can also cost the loss of the no claims bonus on the policy.
What can you do to improve the performance of your vehicle fleet? How can you manage the risks?
Driver responsibility
The drivers of your insured vehicles are largely responsible for any accidents causing loss or damage – and the subsequent insurance claims. So, a key to managing the risks inevitably involves impressing on your drivers their share of responsibility.
A carrot and stick approach might include incentive schemes (such as bonuses for claims-free driving), for example, and penalties (such as financial responsibility for any insurance excess that is payable).
Training
Underlining the primary role of your drivers in managing the risks, you might also introduce driver training courses and assessments.
Once again, you can reward successful drivers who reach various levels of advanced training and penalise those who fail to make the grade – with the ultimate penalty, of course, of letting them go from your employment.
Technology
These days there is a growing armoury of technology to help you monitor and manage the driving skills, behaviour, and accident records of those of your employees who get behind the wheel.
Dash cams are widely installed to keep eyes permanently open for every event that happens. Companies such as Tech Radar review the current best buys for your vehicles.
The industry journal Fleet News also runs a series of articles and blogs about the many applications and wide range of telematics currently available.
When to go and when to stay
If you find that you are making lots of claims on your current fleet insurance, it might be tempting simply to switch the cover you need to a different provider every so often.
Beware, though, to keep a sense of proportion and balance in doing so. Clearly, it makes sense to keep your fleet cover under regular review, shop around for the most attractive deals that become available in a changing market (or let us do that on your behalf), and make a switch if you find more appropriate cover at a better price elsewhere.
Bear in mind, though, that your claims history is always likely to be a matter of keen interest on the part of any insurer you approach. If that history shows lots of claims, followed by constant changes of insurer, any future proposal for insurance is likely to be viewed more cautiously – and this may be reflected in the terms you are offered.