Managing a large fleet comes with a lot of large costs. This cost is increased by the fact that both the staff and the cars must be insured. However, regardless of how ‘safe’ your fleet may be, insurance premiums remain the same for everyone. Do they, or do they not?
Insurance premiums have dramatically increased in recent years. Fleet operators have been put under a lot of strain as a result of this. This is where employing smart technology will reduce some of your burdens. A new telematics-based fleet insurance system may prove effective in lowering fleet operators’ expenses. The cost of insurance premiums can be decreased by integrating insurance providers with telematics. This saves a lot of money for fleet operators and brings in more business for insurance carriers at a lower risk.
Fleet Insurance
In the automotive industry, usage-based insurance (UBI) is available, but heavy equipment managers are unlikely to find anything comparable for several years. Telematics is used by UBI to link insurance prices to how a car is driven.
Advanced Video Telematics Solutions at Ridiculously Accessible Prices!
What is Usage-Based Insurance?
Usage-based fleet insurance makes use of telematics systems to track mileage and driving patterns. Dashcams employed in a vehicle are used to track these various factors. It may also be accessed via corresponding mobile applications. The behavior of a fleet driver is directly tracked, allowing insurers to better link driving behaviors with premium rates.
Telematics devices track a variety of factors that insurance companies value. Information such as kilometers driven, routes taken, trip duration, and driver behavior such as abrupt acceleration, harsh braking, turning, speeding, and so on can be tracked using a telematics device.
How Does Video Telematics Bring Down Insurance Costs?
Conventional insurance plans rely on the driver’s knowledge and self-improvement. A fleet’s insurance can be directly affected by a video-based safety program. The key to success is a collaboration between the platform and managed service, as well as preventative management and coaching to ensure that the driver is properly trained and supported, all of which leads to driver improvement. As fleet safety improves and claims decrease, insurers pay attention to the fleet’s safety programs. This results in either a stable insurance premium (in a market where rates are increasing), a smaller increase than other fleets, or a reduction in rate altogether.
When considering all of the possible reasons for car insurance providers to raise premiums, vehicle accidents are possibly the most noticeable. Companies may suffer debilitating insurance costs in the form of higher insurance premiums, liability settlements, life insurance, and survivor awards, among other financial obligations associated with accidents. Furthermore, excessive penalties are imposed on insurers, compelling them to pass these costs on to fleets in the form of higher insurance rates. These additional expenditures compound the continually rising insurance prices, putting fleet owners in a financial bind.
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Facilitating Drivers To Self Coach Using Video Telematics Data
Advanced machine learning and AI are essential for effectively detecting and notifying drivers and fleets of diversions and potentially dangerous behaviors in real-time. When it comes to helping drivers and fleets achieve immediate and long-term improvements, a hybrid approach that combines in-cab warnings, flexible and light-touch capabilities, and driver empowerment tools with an optional streamlined coaching procedure when it’s needed is ideal.
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Critical Tool For More Accurate Risk Assessment
Video telematics allows fleet managers to see the metrics that matter most, such as harsh braking and acceleration, speeding, sudden lane changes, and the usage of reverse gear (which is highly connected with collision) to determine the causality of events, which is a key component in loss claims. This information is accurate and admissible evidence that can be utilized to defend a claim. Telematics data not only gives insurance companies insight but also gives fleet operators the ability to minimize their premium rates by instructing their drivers to adopt safe driving behaviors.
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Improved Safety = Lower Insurance Costs
If your insurance provider is aware that you employ asset monitoring and geofencing, it may result in cheaper deductibles and insurance premiums as all factors contributing to risk are already mapped out and being worked on.
Features Of An Ideal Dashcam That Will Help Reduce Insurance Costs For Your Fleet
By reducing the frequency and severity of accidents, exonerating drivers from false claims, and potentially lowering your insurance costs, the appropriate dash cam can save your company money. According to a study (conducted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Division of Safety Research, United States), some fleets see as much as an 86% decrease in accident-related costs when dashcams are used. Insurance providers would undoubtedly prefer dashcams with features designed to meet safety-focused key performance indicators when deciding which device is ideal for your fleet.
Here are a few dashcam features to look for to show your dedication to enhancing fleet safety:
- AI: Advanced dash cams with built-in artificial intelligence (AI) can detect issues like tailgating and inattentive driving, alerting you to when a motorist needs teaching on risky conduct and near misses before they become concerns that could affect insurance rates.
- Built-In Speakers & Microphones: When risky driving behavior is observed, built-in speakers can sound alerts, and microphones can record audio during safety events to provide context to insurance providers.
- Wide Field View: The more road your dashcam can see, the more film it can capture, therefore having a wide or semi-wide angle lens helps when displaying footage. An ideal dashcam must feature both driver and road field views as well.
- Detecting Unsafe Driving Behavior: You may set up your dashcam to automatically upload footage to the cloud whenever a safety incident is detected, such as forceful braking or a crash, allowing you and your insurance provider faster access to the video.
- Cloud Backed: Access to footage is critical in the event of an accident, so opting for a modern dashcam that can auto-upload data to the cloud saves time and money over older devices that rely on micro SD cards.
- High Picture Quality: When providing proof to insurance companies, image quality is crucial. Dashcams that face forward should record video in 1080p full HD. You will be able to see the road ahead clearly and make out numbers on license plates as a result of this.
- Night Vision: Infrared LED is essential for capturing excellent footage, especially in unlit cabs, because most commercial trucks are allowed to operate at night or in low-light conditions.
In the majority of automobile-truck crashes, the car is at fault. Commercial vehicle drivers, on the other hand, are more commonly — and incorrectly — found to be at fault because the truck is larger and capable of greater harm. Commercial insurance premiums are skyrocketing in today’s litigious atmosphere. At the same time, we’re seeing a rise in interest in video solutions from insurance firms as well as fleets. Fleets can close claims faster and at a lesser cost to insurance providers by using recordings, which are even better when combined with telematics data.
Quick Read: Video Telematics: A Game Changer For Fleet Managers In South Africa
Quick Read: Dashcams: The Future of Fleet Mobility