You’ve seen the commercials. You may have even read an article or two about how the automobile insurance industry is offering “discounted rates” for safe driving. Simply plug a devise into your vehicle, drive safe and get rewarded. While the potential for saving money on your insurance expense is always a positive, there are many additional positives that some of the leading telematic companies can offer when it comes to not only the safety of your passengers/clients, but your vehicles as well.
What many fleet owners do not always take into consideration and/or are not aware of, is just how beneficial the information provided by certain telematic devices can be. For instance, telematics can provide insight as to how safely and professionally your fleet is being operated. Why is this important? Let’s take a look.
- Driver Behavior: This is extremely important! If a driver is actively operating your vehicle in an aggressive manner (harsh braking, hard acceleration, constant speeding, etc.) it not only puts your passengers/clients in danger, it also causes unnecessary wear & tear on your vehicles. In the end, this type of behavior ends up costing you either in the form of a costly insurance claim, which could increase your insurance cost, or with unnecessary and/or heightened level of maintenance, fuel expense, etc.
- Vehicle Location: While fleet owners generally know where their vehicles should be traveling based on predetermined trip assignments, it’s not uncommon to find a vehicle in operation outside its intended operating area. With live GPS, you as the fleet owner can see exactly where your vehicle is, and what it’s doing in real time. Is it sitting still with engine running in parking lot (wasting gas)? Is it being used for some sort of personal errand for a driver? We have witnessed situations where a driver has taken a van across state lines to transport their family for a vacation, and fortunately, the owner of the fleet was able to see this, as the telematic system alerted him to the vehicles unusual location and activity.
- Impact Alerts: Are you certain you are being made aware of every incident that may have occurred with your vehicle? Unfortunately, incidents that may at first seem minor, can turn into much larger problems down the road. If your vehicle were to be involved in a minor incident with another vehicle, with all involved parties advising they are unharmed, and damage to the vehicles involved unnoticeable, perhaps one assumes “no harm, no foul”. You however, the owner of the vehicle, are left completely unaware of the incident ever occurring. Then, two months later you receive a Notice of Suit and are being sued due to injuries sustained as a result of the aforementioned incident, which was initially dismissed as too minor to report. With impact alerts, you would be made aware of the impact the moment the incident occurred, allowing you to put the insurance carrier on notice and begin investigating what exactly happened.
While many companies enjoy the cost savings that can be gained when it comes to expenses related to maintenance and daily upkeep of their fleet, the biggest benefit to telematics is the ability to virtually monitor your drivers’ behavior behind the wheel, and ultimately how your vehicles are being operated. Both of which can provide opportunities for further driver intervention and training, which are essential to keeping the number of claims down, and premiums stable.