Commercial fleets have been struggling against rising costs in many areas of their work for years with no immediate signs of abating. Operating expenses related to fueling vehicles, driver safety and asset care all combine into significant expenses and looking for ways to reduce these costs is essential when remaining competitive in your field. Fortunately, there is one area that is often overlooked that will save you significantly in the long term: fleet insurance.
Read on to explore actions you can take that will result in more cost-effective fleet insurance packages for you this year.
Immediately contacting your broker about your HGV fleet insurance may seem like the obvious first step, but it isn’t. While this single small action will have a positive effect on your premiums, it will significantly improve results if you conduct several more actions beforehand. Your current premiums will be a direct result of various aspects of your business, such as:
If any of these factors change, then your insurance premiums will change also. This is why we encourage fleet managers to conduct a comprehensive review of their business and look for areas they can improve that will directly lead to an improved insurance policy. Here are examples of how challenging smaller areas of your business will lead to much larger gains.
Addressing issues such as vehicle maintenance and safety protocols minimises the likelihood of accidents and insurance claims, consequently reducing your overall risk profile. Additionally, create a comprehensive risk management strategy that covers all potential vulnerabilities, which in turn will provide you with information on where you need to improve.
Insurance providers value companies that demonstrate a strong commitment to safety and risk mitigation. So, proactively addressing smaller areas within your fleet business showcases your dedication to maintaining a safe operating environment, which often leads to beneficial consideration from insurers and lower premiums.
Improving efficiency and reducing costs in various aspects of your fleet operations not only helps reduce costs across your whole company but also positively impacts your insurance premiums. Insurers may offer preferential rates to businesses that demonstrate effective cost-management practices and operational efficiency. By continuously refining and optimising different aspects of your fleet business, you will build a strong foundation this year and for the rest of the decade for sustained improvement and cost reduction in relation to your insurance premiums.
Driver refresher training is an excellent tool that will save on costs in many areas of your business as well as your premiums. Provided by many external agencies, this training program is designed to guarantee that all vehicle fleet drivers are both physically fit and competent and will safely navigate their vehicles on public roads.
It provides drivers with the opportunity to revisit their initial training, reinforces the invaluable lessons learned, and adds new techniques and practices that may have been invented since that early training. Many businesses will develop a regular refresher training regime and make it a routine part of staff development.
Driver skills have the potential to worsen over time, with bad practices beginning to show in an extended career, particularly with extended time alone. Even for drivers who operate their vehicles on a daily basis, this refresher training is highly recommended to uphold safe driving practices while ensuring familiarity with the most current rules and regulations.
With driver training enforced, your business shows its commitment to safety and improved risk management, which, as we discussed previously, has a positive effect when looking to improve your insurance premiums.
Telematics is a popular combination of computers and wireless technology that allows data to be shared remotely on commercial fleet activities. They are often used to assist drivers in working efficiently, but they also enable managers to monitor driver activities and assess their performance.
Maintenance metrics are generated from the data that telematics provides, and they are the best way to take your telematics data and apply it practically to your fleet. Additionally, dashcams are common tools for providing evidence of road activities, particularly when an unexpected incident occurs. By installing dash cams in your vehicles, you provide a clear chain of evidence that will support your driver's actions and, with their improved training, protect your business from incorrect claims of negligence. This improved asset care feeds back into your status to your insurance provider and will help provide opportunities to acquire better deals with lower premiums.
After you've conducted the discussed changes, the final step is to consult with one of our commercial fleet insurance brokers and see what opportunities your actions will provide you for improving your insurance. Our brokers have significant experience in this field and take a proactive approach when sourcing or updating new and improved packages. We maintain positive connections with a large network of truck fleet insurance providers to guarantee that we will find a better option for you than you currently have.
Contact us today to discuss how our insurance brokers in Bolton will assist you and find out how your actions will improve your insurance for your fleet today.
