Using telematics to reduce your haulage and insurance costs
CLA (Risk Solutions) Ltd
Do a search on Google for telematics insurance and you will find most of the large insurers and price comparison sites also refer to it as black box insurance.
These insurance policies are aimed at individual car drivers aiming to save money on their insurance premiums by having their driving monitored.
Carry out some more research and you will find that telematics covers much more than that and includes a range of clever devices combined with vehicle and driver management to help company fleet operators manage their fleets more efficiently, safely and profitably.
Working with your insurance provider or insurance broker you can implement a strategy for your business that will keep your vehicles on the road, provide a better service to your clients and reduce your insurance claims and costs.
Telematics devices A computer (black box) is installed in your fleet vehicles to monitor everything from vehicle location, speed, braking, engine idling and fuel consumption.
Using this information allows fleet owners to build up a picture of driver behaviour.
By monitoring all the information from the black box, improvements can be made to increase efficiency.
The device includes a GPS (global positioning system) that tracks your vehicle.
This helps with route planning, vehicle availability and communication of arrival times.
This is particularly useful if your vehicles must be at destinations at specific times.
The construction sector is a typical example, where movement of materials is crucial to keep sites supplied.
Disruptions can be monitored, breakdown assistance quickly dealt with and clients kept informed.
A complete record of the vehicle trip history is stored, helping fleet owners to manage maintenance and keep the vehicle working at maximum efficiency.
Developing better driving habits Monitoring driver habits can be useful to identify areas of training needed to improve driver behaviour and safety.
Driver assessment and risk management can then be carried out providing feedback on how they are driving and carrying out their other duties compared to colleagues and industry best practice including any regulatory requirements.
Vehicle security
Telematics can be used to locate a vehicle if it is stolen or being used for unauthorised purposes outside normal working hours.
The device will also provide information if one of your vehicles is involved in a road accident and it can be integrated with CCTV cameras to provide footage of the incident and identify who was at fault.
Vehicle cameras
CCTV cameras provide additional information to fleet owners to support the information being provided by the telematics system.
Showing drivers footage of their driving from inside and outside the cab can be an effective training tool, helping to reduce accidents and improve driving efficiency.
The other benefit of having 360-degree coverage with cameras is the ability to record actions of other road users.
Insurance claims can be dealt with quickly because it is easier to establish who is responsible, getting your vehicle back on the road faster.
Fraudulent claims against your drivers can be robustly defended using the video footage, for example, if a driver is claiming whiplash injury after a collision with one of your vehicles and it subsequently comes to light that your vehicle was travelling at less than 5 mph.
Using telematics, haulage companies have found they can substantially reduce the number of accidents and claims across their fleet by monitoring and improving driver habits.
If you would like to discuss how our telematics cover which encompasses driver assessment, fleet management, mobile data, risk management and vehicle tracking can help your business fleet, please call 0121 321 4600.