There is probably not one single fleet manager in the transportation business who dare running a fleet operation without insurance. A proper insurance solution for a transport business could be both complex and costly. So, is there really something like “the best insurance” for a truck fleet? Yes, in my opinion there actually is!
It’s easy to get lost in an impenetrable jungle
All over the world, most transportation operations are insured in one way or another. The truck’s vehicle insurance normally covers damages from road accidents or vehicle break-down. Employee insurance would typically cover for the driver’s possible injury or sickness. To some extent, even the business operation itself could be insured. Altogether, an insurance solution could be so complicated – and costly – that an insurance agent often is required, and she can have a hard time working out the optimal solution for a client.
Insurance is reactive
Legislations, conditions, and preferences vary in different countries. While insurance solutions may look very different, they still have something in common: Insurances are reactive. They are only effective should a conditional incident occur. If nothing happens insurance is just a cost – the cost for peace of mind, you could say.
Insurance is a cost for peace of mind
Could insurance be proactive?
Since many years, insurance companies have realised that prevention is a smart way to reduce insurance compensation. That’s why some health insurance companies offer hefty price reductions to customers who can prove a healthy lifestyle. And home insurance companies sometimes do the same for customers with burglar-/fire-protected houses. From this perspective, an effective fence could be a better ‘insurance’ since it may prevent the burglary from occurring at all.
The smartest insurance for a truck fleet
Using the same logic for the transportation business, the best insurance for your truck fleet is whatever prevents an incident or an accident from occurring at all! Be it driver training, a safety device or anything else doesn’t matter as long as it is effective.
“The best insurance is something that prevents an incident or an accident from occurring at all.”
Automatic snow chains are such insurance. By having them at hands, costly delays and possible accidents can be avoided. However, they have something in common with ordinary insurances: They must be in place and effective before they really are needed.
That’s why I think that any fleet manager operating in areas where there is a risk of icy roads should consider automatic snow chains as preventative insurance. I also think that insurance companies should offer some benefit for vehicles with automatic snow chains installed as these will save incidents and accidents – ultimately saving money for the insurance companies. I believe that, sooner or later, they will realise this.
In the meantime, it’s just about time to order automatic snow chains for your trucks, so they will be at hands for your drivers when winter strikes. At the fraction of the cost for traditional insurance – not to mention the cost of possible delays and accidents – you can have peace of mind.
In the video you find, when you click on the button below, some fleet managers talk about why they have invested in automatic snow chains for their fleet
