12 January 2018
How to get the best price for your motor fleet
How to get the best price for your motor fleet
Specialist insurance for the Transportation and Haulage sector needs a unique approach. It is important to engage a broker that has a specialism in your industry. They must have the knowledge and expertise in your business sector and be able to provide you with full market access. But how can you ensure you are able to obtain the best cover, claims management and premium levels?
Claims
Unfortunately it is inevitable that your business will suffer motor accidents. However how can you reduce this risk?
Claims management is essential to keeping premiums at a reasonable level. This should be a three way partnership with your broker and Insurer. Your claims should be reviewed at least half yearly but we recommend quarterly. You can then see trends which may show reoccurring incidents, for drivers or specific types of accident. This could be hitting stationary vehicles, does the route go through congested areas? Would smaller vehicles be a better solution? Are time critical drops causing problems? Claims reserves are always a contentious subject but with regular reviews and three way dialogue these should be explained and challenged where necessary.
Vehicle Cameras
No-one likes to admit they are at fault. Driver bonuses may encourage miss-interpretation of accident circumstances. Cameras have proved to be extremely useful in obtaining the correct information of the incident. This can help defend claims where a third party is a fault but also allows fault claims to be dealt with faster and therefore keep any third-party costs down. Insurers can successfully reduce claims costs with fast capture of the accident details.
Driver management
Telematics systems are now the norm and fitted to the majority of HGV’s. However are you utilising the full potential of the information captured by your system? Current technology can provide useful information on the driving style and where harsh braking or acceleration seems to be a normal habit then driver training can be targeted to the specific driver. Many drivers have bonus arrangements for hitting targets and not having fault accidents. As mentioned above this can lead to misleading statements for accidents circumstances or even the failure to report claims. Cameras and telematics can help but maybe looking at restructuring driver bonuses could encourage early reporting.
Premiums will still be calculated on vehicle schedule and claims experience but the above can have a significant effect on your premiums. If Insurers can see an active and responsible risk management program in place then your broker has the tools to negotiate competitive premiums for you.
If you do engage an alternative broker then make sure you select the right one. There are a number of questions you should ask in the selection process. To find out how we can help you change the way you purchase insurance please contact us today.
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