Fleet Insurance – doom and gloom or an exciting future

Published On: September 27, 2017

Fleet Insurance – doom and gloom or an exciting future

We are a new business, we must write a blog, in today’s world of technology, social media and constant change we’ve got to get our message out there! Yes, can you tell, I approach the thought of a blog with a degree of reluctance, why would anyone want to hear what I have to say? Can I be one of these confident experts? Well I’m not sure about any of that but what I am sure about is that I’m going to be 100% honest and tell you about things from my point of view and let you decide if it’s worth reading or debating.

I’ve been an insurer for 20+ years and a broker for 3 and a half years and I come from a technology development background so perhaps I will bring a different perspective on InsurTech and issues facing brokers and insurers today. Enough about me, what about something more interesting like Motor Fleet Insurance.

We saw recently a potential movement back on the Ogden discounting rate but at best it’s a half step forward after a damaging step backwards. The issue still remains, Commercial Motor insurance is losing money and in certain fleet sectors we are seeing some eye watering examples of premium increases. An HGV fleet where the premium was £30,000 last year being renewed for over £100,000 this year, we hear story after story as we talk to more brokers across the country.

Throw in uncertainties around Brexit, professional driver shortages, exaggeration of claims, claims management company profits (do they really make £200m that policyholders pay for?), a growing litigious culture and motor vehicle technology changes and you have a world that your standard 3 year claims experience isn’t really fit to predict. What we can say is that change is accelerating and that change is here to stay. Naturally, we ask, what can we do to manage and mitigate in this ever changing environment?

At this point you are going to expect me to say, here’s the answer, buy our Claims App! It cuts down on claims reporting times, uses technology people already have and can save thousands of pounds for some clients. That might be so but it’s also not that simple, we need to look at the whole picture. Will technology work for that client? The more important issue might be prevention, not just speeding up reporting from 20 days down to 20mins

So how can a claims app that is used to report claims from the roadside actually stop claims happening? This is an interesting cultural piece. When drivers have had the app explained to them and examples shown does it make them more risk aware? It’s early days in terms of data but subjectively Transport Managers are saying that by raising the reporting protocols it is having an impact. What has definitely happened in one instance is that reporting times have come down, not just because of the technology, but because the client is now aware of how much time delays cost them in credit hire, storage and potential injury settlements.

We are here to try and help brokers with technological claims solutions that they can deploy at little cost and that make a big impact. Engage with us and see what we can do for you today. The future is what you decide, sit back and ‘be done to’ and it’s doom and gloom, be pro-active and on the front foot and we can create something a bit different.