‘Safety First’ Is Crucial For Trucking, Insurance
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Insurance costs for many motor carriers have crept higher in recent years, particularly for commercial auto liability insurance. The trucking and insurance industry experts I’ve spoken with over the past few years cite several factors for the rise, including the litigious environment the trucking industry is battling that is being fueled by certain trial lawyers.
That trend, combined with the focus on trucking safety technologies, as well as regulatory changes on the horizon that some say could help insurers identify unsafe motor carriers, makes it an ideal time for Transport Topics to publish its first Trucking and Insurance Special Report.
Matso Lysiak
The featured story of this inaugural report examines how the insurance industry is now taking a much closer look at motor carriers’ use of safety technologies — such as collision mitigation and avoidance systems, onboard cameras and telematics, which can help motor carriers reduce or possibly eliminate, costly losses. For example, cameras can help motor carriers monitor their drivers, including any potentially unsafe behavior.
Special Report:
Trucking and Insurance
And under the current circumstances, if there’s one mantra that the insurance industry and the trucking industry can agree on, it is this: safety first. That’s because although insurance companies are there for their policyholders, they certainly don’t want to have to pay out big-ticket claims. And motor carriers, on the other hand, certainly don’t want to have to file a claim to begin with.
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One company executive summed up her take on trucking safety technologies and insurance: “Do I get a break on my insurance premium for these voluntary purchases? No,” said Sherri Garner Brumbaugh, CEO of Garner Trucking, referring to lane departure systems, crash avoidance, cameras and driver-assist systems. “Will they help a driver stay safe operating his/her truck? That is the objective, safety. But it takes time to cycle these trucks with these new safety technologies into operation.”
Read this story to find out how these technologies are factoring into insurers’ underwriting processes and what the future holds.
And in an ever-connected world, fleets are facing new and emerging threats, such as cyberattacks. Securing the right insurance coverage for this increasing risk is essential.
I hope you enjoy this TT special report, and perhaps learn more about how to be proactive in addressing and tackling some of your key risks.
