How Dash Cams Lower Insurance Premiums for Fleets

Commercial fleets of all sizes are no stranger to risk. Every trip can be fraught with potential hazards, from road conditions to other motorists. That’s why fleet insurance plays a big role in managing risk and controlling loss.

Depending on the size and scope of your fleet, a large payout in the event of an accident could be catastrophic for your business.

Large payouts tend to drive up insurance rates for fleets, while increasing the associated costs for those businesses to insure them. In some cases, smaller businesses have no choice but to fold altogether.

Commercial dash cams have proven to significantly lower insurance premiums for fleets. In this article, we’ll explore the ways in which dash cams can keep your drivers safe while having a positive impact on your bottom line.

About Dash Cams

Dash cameras are mounted on the dashboard or windscreen of a vehicle and used to record footage of the road ahead. Some dash cameras also monitor activity in the cab. 

These solutions are increasingly used by both private individuals and commercial fleets to generate video footage for evidence in the event of an accident, as well as to capture other incidents that can occur while driving.

How Dash Cams Lower Insurance Premiums for Fleets

In addition to streamlining your operations, gathering essential data about your vehicles and drivers and ensuring their safety, dash cams can also help lower insurance premiums for fleets.

Video Evidence

In the past, many insurance companies would refuse to cover claims where there was no evidence to support them. This would often leave fleet managers footing the bill for damages and repairs, as well as any legal fees that may be incurred. 

No insurance companies currently offer a specific “dash cam discount”. Many insurance companies have been slow to adopt dash cams into their policies, but that doesn’t mean that the technology can’t save you and your fleet thousands of dollars in payments and premiums. 

Dash cam footage can fast track your claim, exonerate your drivers and positively impact your bottom line. Having dash cams in your vehicles can positively affect your premium, which in turn helps keep your rates down.

Risk Assessment

Another way in which dash cams can lower insurance premiums is by helping insurers to assess the risk associated with your business.

Using a combination of dash cam footage, on-board diagnostics and telematics, insurers can get a better understanding of your drivers’ behaviour on the road, as well as how your vehicles fare during their journey. 

This information can be used to modify your premiums, or even offer discounts for being a low-risk customer.

Fraud Prevention

From staged accidents to false claims, insurance fraud is a very real problem in the world of commercial fleets.

Dash cam footage can help protect your drivers from staged accidents by other drivers, or the “crash for cash” epidemic.

When you’re less at risk of being taken advantage of, your insurer may offer a lower premium.

Driver Safety

Dash cams can also help to lower insurance premiums for fleets by promoting driver safety.

Many insurers offer discounts for businesses that take steps to improve the safety of their drivers, and dash cams can be an effective way of doing this. 

By recording footage of the road ahead (and the cab within), fleet managers can identify any unsafe driving behaviours and take steps to mitigate them.

This not only makes your drivers safer, but also reduces the risk of accidents, which is likely to lead to a lower insurance rate.

The Bottom Line

Dash cams show your provider how you are ensuring the safety of your fleet and your drivers.

By performing regular assessments with your insurance provider and offering dash cam footage in the event of an accident, you’ll paint a picture of a safe fleet with a low accident rate, and that will save you money in the long run.

If you don’t already use a dash cam solution, or have questions about how they can lower insurance premiums for fleets, contact your ZenduiT consultant today.