Protecting Your Business—You Hold the Keys

Submitted by Federated Insurance

Auto crashes continue to wreak havoc on our nation’s roads, and as a result on businesses that rely on vehicles to move people or products. The devastation is apparent in employees and their families, who must cope with tragic consequences, and in courtrooms, where businesses are held responsible for the behavior of employees driving for company purposes.

Court decisions designed to punish businesses are becoming more and more common. Your best chance to avoid a ruling that could reach into the tens of millions is to proactively address the common issues that arise in auto crash claims. Do your driving policies address the right factors, such as substance use and mobile device distraction? Are you doing your homework on your drivers? Can you demonstrate that you did everything you could to help prevent a crash?

Understanding your drivers’ driving history is key to strong hiring practices. Do they have a record of crashes or driving-related arrests? Is it worth the risk to put them behind the wheel of a company vehicle?

Consider a monitoring service that automatically orders motor vehicle records (MVRs) periodically. It will reduce the likelihood that you will miss a change in an employee’s driving record, potentially.

An Eye on Your Fleet... Technology can help you monitor your vehicles. Telematics systems give you a set of eyes in the cabs of your vehicles and on the road ahead of them. The data they collect helps you discover risky behaviors, optimize productivity, reduce fuel costs, and increase uptime, among other benefits. Drivers might be nervous about this constant surveillance at first, but the point of the systems is not to babysit your employees. Rather, they help you coach your drivers to be at their best. They also help you and investigating authorities understand crashes, which could exonerate innocent drivers and reduce claims...