Business owners have a lot to think about and a lot of responsibility heaped on their shoulders. It’s not an easy job to take on, but it’s one that comes with many rewards, and one of those is finding ways to increase business profitability by reducing costs. The best way to do this is to pick one area where you want to save money and focus on that before moving on to the next once you have achieved your money-saving goals. Insurance is a great place to start because it’s legally (and morally) necessary, but it can be costly too. So it’s great if you can find ways to reduce those costs  and find a cheap solution while still insurance your business, your employees, and the public are protected. A business that invests in cameras and telematics may well be able to decrease its HGV fleet insurance costs. Let’s look more closely at this idea because it could be the ideal place for you to start. 

What Are Cameras And Telematics? 

When you install cameras and telematics in your fleet vehicles, you can easily monitor the driving patterns and behaviours of your drivers. Plus, if there were to be an accident, you’ll have all the information you need to pass to your insurers so they can deal with the claim. Cameras are a concept you’ll be familiar with, and ‘dash cams’ are a great idea for your business fleet. Make sure you install both front and back-facing ones to cover every aspect of every journey, and you’ll always be able to see exactly what is happening at any time. Telematics is a little more complicated but just as useful. Telematics uses GPS combined with data from the vehicle’s engine to give you live information about the speed, location, and movement of any of your vehicles.  Comparing all the best insurers can really pay off.  Again, this will help you when it comes to understanding why an accident might have occurred, but it will also ensure that you can give the most accurate details to your insurance company if you ever need to claim on your truck fleet insurance. Now you know more about what cameras and telematics are and what they can do for you, let’s look at how they might help you reduce your HGV fleet insurance costs. 

Improved Driver Performance 

Your truck fleet insurance company will be happy to see you have installed telematics and cameras in your vehicles for a number of reasons, but one that stands out is that you should see improved driver performance going forward. If a driver knows that their journey can be monitored at any time, they are much more likely to stick to the speed limit and drive safely. The last thing they want is to be asked to speak to a manager and be given a disciplinary or told their driving performance needs to be improved. Those who know they could be monitored (even if the monitoring is random and not constant) will drive better and more safely, and any bad habits that can so easily be picked up on the road can be eliminated. This means there is far less chance of an accident, and your truck HGV  fleet insurance should be reduced to reflect this. Remember also that your insurance premium is not the only cost you can reduce when your drivers are taking more care. You’ll need to change your tyres less often, and there will also be less wear on the engine, for example, saving you money in maintenance costs. 

Evidence of Scams 

No one wants to be involved in an accident - or at least, that’s the general wisdom. The problem is that there are a growing number of ‘crash for cash’ scams happening, where someone will deliberately cause an accident so they can claim on the other driver’s insurance. The accident will be their fault, but they will carry it out on a quiet stretch of road where there are no witnesses, and they’ll know just where to hit the other vehicle to cause damage to their own that looks as though it was the other person’s fault. If one of your drivers were to get caught up in this kind of scam, it would be costly (if the claim was awarded, your premiums might go up) and time-consuming; your driver would be on the way to a job or making a delivery, and this hold up could mean a poor review or other issues with the customer. When you have telematics and cameras, you can provide evidence that the accident was done on purpose for a scam, and the insurers won’t have to pay out. This will save you money in the long term and ensure that a criminal is caught in the act. 

Less Chance of Theft 

Cameras are a fantastic deterrent to crime, and that is true no matter whether you install them in your home, your garden, your business premises, or your fleet vehicles. If a would-be thief spots a camera or even an indication that there might be one, they’ll be reluctant to try to break in or steal anything, and instead, they’ll look for someone else to steal from. When you have cameras installed on your business vehicles, you can reduce the chance of theft for those reasons. That means the vehicle itself is better protected, but so too are any tools that might be inside or any products you’re delivering to customers. When you minimise the chances that your van will be broken into, your truck fleet insurance premiums should be reduced to reflect that. The insurance company will be more confident that your vehicles and their contents are protected, so they won’t need to ask you for so much money every month. It’s a win-win situation and helps reduce the cost of HGV fleet insurance.

HGV Early Collision Warning System 

When you have cameras and telematics installed in a vehicle, there are a number of other instruments you can put in place to work in conjunction with them. These can range from tools that will help a driver find their destination more accurately to fuel monitors and - something that can help when it comes to reducing your truck HGV fleet insurance - early collision warning systems. These instruments can accurately predict the chances of an lorry accident occurring and alert the driver so they can take evasive action. Some of these units will rely solely on cameras, but some worth with telematic systems and combine information about the driving style of the operator in the truck with the information picked up about the road and the other traffic or obstacles on it. With an early collision warning in place, insurers will again be more confident that there is less chance of an accident, meaning your premiums don’t have to be as high as they might otherwise be; the insurer is taking less of a risk, so they will ask for less money. 

Speak To Your HGV Insurer 

Once you install cameras and telematics in your fleet vehicles, it’s crucial that you speak to your insurer, even if you are in the middle of a contract. One of the conditions of that contract will likely be that if anything changes, you need to let the insurer know, and that includes any measures you take to reduce the risk of accidents and theft. Contrary to popular belief, your insurer won’t automatically be alerted to the fact that you have installed this equipment; you will need to let them know particularly if it is a 44 ton heavy goods vehicle. In some cases, you will get an immediate discount. In others, you might have to monitor the situation for a set amount of time before you can show that this technology is making a difference. And the amount that your insurer will reduce the premiums by will be different for each unique situation, so you may not be able to ascertain just how much you’ll be saving initially (although, again, speaking to your truck fleet insurance provider is a good idea as they may be able to give you an idea, even if it’s not set in stone). 

Other Benefits of Cameras and Telematics 

Although it’s likely that the main reason you install cameras and telematics in your fleet vehicles is to lower your HGV fleet insurance, there are other benefits as well, and these can directly help your business grow and thrive. One reason other than insurance to install these pieces of equipment is that your drivers will find it helpful. Even though some will not enjoy the monitoring aspect, the fact is that they will become better drivers as a result of these tools being in their vehicles. This will help them drive better when they are not at work too, and could even reduce their personal premiums as a result. Plus, when you have telematics in your vehicles, you can ensure that all timesheets are up-to-date and accurate. This will help your team as they will no longer need to complete timesheets or fill in overtime forms, and it will help your bottom line as you will only ever pay what is necessary. With cameras and telematics, you can improve your business in many ways, and save money on your insurance as a definite benefit.

 

 

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