Innovative technology gives carriers the power to lower insurance rates in real time

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Insurance accounts for a large portion of fixed costs for trucking companies, especially small and mid-sized carriers. Rates rise year after year, driven by everything from nuclear court verdicts to environmental concerns. There is one thing, however, that can help carriers take control of snowballing rates while still protecting insurance companies: transparency. 

Aon Transportation Programs and CarrierHQ have teamed up to launch the Small Fleet Advantage trucking insurance program that allows small fleets to directly influence their insurance premiums, even during their current term. In order to do this, CarrierHQ utilizes real-time data integrations to gather underwriting details for processing and rating by Aon.

Small Fleet Advantage is the trucking industry’s first small fleet, safe driving adjustable-rate insurance program.

Aon Chief Client Officer Mark Epperson joined Dooner and The Dude on a recent episode of What The Truck?!? to discuss how emerging technology is changing the game for small-to-midsize fleet owners, last mile delivery, carriers and insurance providers alike. 

Typically, insurance companies rely on historical data to predict future risk. This involves looking at snippets of a company’s performance over the past 10 to 12 years. Now that technologies with telematics equipment and in-cab cameras have become commonplace, insurance companies can get a better look at what happens inside each truck on a daily basis. Insights from new technologies give providers far more data to go on, leading to a better understanding of a carrier’s day-to-day performance. This, in turn, affects rates. 

The proliferation and cost reduction surrounding new technologies has made them more attractive for carriers and insurance companies. 

“In the past, these technologies have been nice to have in the underwriting world, but they are going to become a requirement,” Epperson said. “Carriers are going to have to be able to provide that information.”

With CarrierHQ’s insurance program, fleet owners can now directly control their rates, and with safe driving their rates could decrease up to 30% each month. When insurance rates are informed by everyday actions – even actions that do not lead to accidents – individual drivers have a direct impact on insurance rates. This gives them a sense of control in a field littered with uncertainty, according to Epperson. 

While drivers may not be able to predict how much time they will spend at a dock, or foresee the next big market disruptor, they can know that safer driving leads to tangibly better outcomes. Ideally, a percentage of insurance premium savings will be passed onto safe drivers via pay increases or simply raising morale across the fleet. 

To learn more about CarrierHQ’s offerings, including the Small Fleet Advantage program, go to www.CarrierHQ.com where you can get a free, no-commit trucking insurance quote. Or call 866-971-5464 and speak with a client success team member. 

To learn more about Aon Transportation Programs, including the Last Mile Delivery program, go to https://www.aonlastmile.com

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Ashley Coker Prince

Ashley is interested in everything that moves, especially trucks and planes. She works with clients to develop sponsored content that tells a story. She worked as reporter and editor at FreightWaves before taking on her current role as Senior Content Marketing Writer. Ashley spends her free time at the dog park with her beagle, Ruth, or scouring the internet for last minute flight deals.