It’s no secret that the insurance market for work truck fleets has been tough over the past several years. As a provider of online training for fleets, we work closely with insurance companies, so we understand the challenges fleets are presented with when it comes time for policy renewal.
Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix to get a discounted rate or be viewed as a safe fleet by your insurance company. But there are things you can do to set yourself up for long-term success when it comes to safety and your overall standing with your insurance provider.
FLEET SAFETY DATA
Most fleets use safety technologies to monitor driving behavior, yet not enough actually use the information collected from these technologies to their advantage when it comes time for renewals.
Before you meet with your insurance provider, analyze safety data so you can discuss your loss history, safety scores, and trends in driver-related incidents. Having this information available for your provider shows them you’re proactive in your fleet safety approach. And with this information, you can make informed decisions to improve in areas you’re coming up short.
Insurance providers consider how a fleet is trending during the renewal process. If a fleet has good overall safety scores but they’ve experienced an uptick in safety incidents reported in recent months, their provider could use that against them. Conversely, if a fleet has an average or below-average safety score but has recently shown a steady decrease in incidents, it will tell the insurance provider that the fleet is heading in the right direction.
That leads to benchmarking—another tool to help your efforts. Tracking your fleet safety scores with other similar operations is something all fleets should do. It can help companies gauge how well their safety programs are compared to others in the industry.
CONSIDER THE POLICY
Less is more when it comes to safety policies. Be concise. Insurance providers notice the way management writes and follows safety policies. Two common problems with policies are: 1) They follow the minimum requirements set by their insurance provider; or 2) They are too lengthy, rules are too stringent, and/or they need to be updated. Both policy characteristics present several red flags.
If your fleet follows the bare minimum policies your insurance provider expects, that’s not enough. When they assess your risk level, they’ll wonder why you aren’t doing more to address safe practices within your fleet. Think of it as receiving a C on a test in school instead of an A. Technically, C is a passing grade, but a C doesn’t show strong performance.
On the other hand, if your policies are pages long with specific rules the company and drivers need to follow, that’s also a problem. If you have a 100-page policy book, will your drivers actually read all of the material and comprehend everything? After a driver reads through it all, they’ll likely have forgotten what was covered a few pages ago. Often these policies were written years ago, and some of the material may be outdated.
CREATE A PROCESS
A better approach is to have policies that cover general rules along with an established and documented process on how the company handles policy violations as they come. Actions speak louder than words. For example, a fleet safety committee can evaluate a policy violation and consider all the factors about the incident and driver history to determine the proper way to handle the problem. Not every incident warrants a “yes or no” type ruling.
Let’s say, for example, you have a driver with a clean record that’s been with the company for 20 years and is considered your top driver. If that driver is involved in their first serious incident, say cited for reckless driving, and you have a strict policy that says that the driver must be terminated, what do you do? Do you fire the driver that, up until then, had been a shining star and lose one of your most experienced drivers? Or do you keep them on and go against the policy? It’s a lose-lose situation because you either lose one of your best drivers or ignore your policy, which might be questioned when you meet with your insurance agency.
By having a process in place to evaluate violations, you can determine the appropriate action that should take place. You won’t be locked in. Not only can this help with operations, but it’s also something your insurance provider and other agencies want to see.
DRIVER TRAINING
There is a lot of free content and videos available online that fleets use to help train their drivers. If you do a Google search on specific types of training, all sorts of results will populate. While some of the content is good, there’s a lot that isn’t, so safety managers need to compare and contrast. Bottom line: Check for quality first.
That said, one of the biggest problems fleets have with using these free resources is that it can be difficult to document the training you’re assigning drivers. Think of it this way: If you assign YouTube videos for drivers to watch without documenting when they watched or without implementing a follow-up activity to determine that the information was retained—then, what’s the point?
When you meet with an insurance provider, they want to see proof of training and documentation that drivers are being assigned, completing, and passing course material.
COMPANY CULTURE
Good company culture is vital to how safely a fleet operates. Many fleets claim they have open-door policies to address driver concerns, but do they actually practice what they preach? Often the answer is no. Fostering meaningful relationships with your drivers and understanding their needs is essential. From company executives to drivers, everyone should have the same level of understanding of expectations regarding safety.
Driver surveys are a great way to understand what’s working and what isn’t when it comes to a variety of driver-related topics. If you do them, take the results to heart. Use the information to better your company. You’re much more likely to retain quality, safe drivers if you create a company culture where drivers want to be. If you don’t, you’ll be in a constant cycle of hiring new drivers.
As many fleets will attest, it’s been a tough insurance market for the last several years. While there’s no quick fix to get better insurance rates, there are several things you can do to put yourself in a better situation long-term when you meet with your insurance provider.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Murrell is president of CarriersEdge, a provider of online driver training for the trucking industry, and co-creator of Best Fleets to Drive For, an annual evaluation of the best workplaces in the North American trucking industry produced in partnership with the Truckload Carriers Association. Find out more, visit www.carriersedge.com.
