Insurance represents a significant cost for any business running a fleet of vehicles. Premiums, deductibles and liability coverage for multiple drivers and cars can easily soar out of control, but fleet managers have options when it comes to reining in insurance spending without compromising protection.
Perform Driver Background Checks
Thoroughly vetting anyone who gets behind the wheel should be the first step for fleets looking to shrink insurance costs. Driver history provides the clearest window into future accident likelihood according to insurers. Running motor vehicle record (MVR) checks helps identity higher risk candidates based on past citations, violations and claims.
Likewise, criminal history and credit checks help paint a full picture of responsibility. Screenings help weed out drivers more prone to cause collisions due either to poor driving habits, substance abuse issues or broader liability concerns. While hiring qualified drivers with clean records may take more effort upfront, it pays long-term dividends in more affordable fleet insurance costs.
Implement Clear Safety Policies
Once good drivers are onboarded, keeping them and your vehicles safe requires clear operational rules. Strong written policies around topics like cell phone usage, seat belt requirements and impaired driving set clear expectations. Safety bonuses and incentives further motivate employees to follow guidelines diligently.
Ongoing driver training is also key, not just during onboarding but through annual refresher courses. Repetition breeds prepared minds able to react properly in hazardous situations. The less confusion among drivers about fleet safety protocols, the lower everyone’s risk on the road. Presenting insurers with robust policies and training plans helps secure this beneficial, cost-saving reality.
Consider Usage-Based Insurance
Because traditional fleet insurance policies rely on estimations of yearly mileage driven, businesses often find themselves overpaying for insurance coverage that doesn’t accurately reflect their actual driving needs. Unlike traditional methods, usage-based insurance options leverage telematics technology to monitor actual vehicle usage, thus enabling the calculation of premiums based on real driving behavior. Rates get calculated through driving data like mileage, time of operation, speed, acceleration and braking.
The benefit of usage-based insurance is paying only for what you need based on actual fleet vehicle use. Lightly used cars see rates drop rather than subsidizing higher-mileage vehicles under flat-rate policies. However, even heavily utilized vehicles can benefit by having concrete proof of safe operating habits like smooth speeds and no late night driving. Talking with insurers to determine if usage-based insurance offers potential savings is an easy way to shrink costs.
Embrace Video Telematics
As technology advances, video-based solutions are rapidly evolving into an essential resource for fleet managers seeking to leverage technology to achieve lower insurance costs. According to the experts at Idrive, built-in dash cam devices provide continuous video monitoring of driver behaviors and road incidents. Camera footage protects fleets when collision liability gets disputed and acts as concrete documentation of safe operating procedures.
Seeing these videos firsthand enables insurers to validate premium-lowering claims of top driver training and skill levels. At a minimum, video gives fleets clear confirmation that collision-causing negligence likely originated from external parties. Just the added transparency dash cams create alters insurer risk perception and enables lowered policy rates. The more evidence fleets provide of enforced safe driving, the better cost outlook gets.
Conclusion
Paying exorbitant insurance premiums simply to keep vehicles on the road will drain resources fast, but implementing good hiring methods, safety policies, usage-based programs and video telematics fights back against inflated, profit-killing costs. Using these tactics, fleet managers gain proper leverage to secure warranted discounts without compromising true protection. Maintaining adequate coverage is essential; doing so economically is the ultimate balancing act to master.
