Businesses that own a fleet of vehicles and employ drivers are all too familiar with the up and down fluctuation of automobile insurance rates. And as we all know, business owners across all industries have one thing in common—protecting their bottom line. At EM Ford, we know that owning vehicles and employing drivers on the road is one of the largest exposures to liability for any business, and we are here with strategies and processes to guide you through controlling this cost with help from our Fleet Safety Program.

Let’s just take a moment and outline some of the variables tied into a company’s fleet and the association with their insurance exposures:

• Capital invested in their fleet
• Expenses on continued vehicle maintenance
• Liabilities tied to the safety of their employees
• Liabilities to third parties for bodily injury and property damage

In just a few short bullet points we have outlined a large portion of a company’s bottom-line when it comes to insurance costs. For years here at EM Ford, I have heard the same story from insurance companies, “commercial auto rates are increasing." This is due in large part to the increase in distracted driving and the loss ratios insurance companies continue to experience.

With that being said, it is now time to have the discussion on how companies can combat those continued automobile rate increases. For years in the insurance industry, it has been common practice for a business to work with their insurance agent by having them “quote” their insurance through varying insurance companies, which would likely include: a list of vehicles, a driver’s list and the claims history associated with the business. This application goes out in black and white to every available underwriter, and the agent waits to deliver the best “quote."

Now, if you are like me, you may wonder where the differentiation is on these applications – What makes one different from the other? How is my business standing out on that underwriter’s desk?

The answer to these questions is all about who you are working with – are you working with an insurance agent that collects data and hopes for the best? Or are you working with an insurance advisor who is part of your team and helps both guide and implement safety policies?

At EM Ford we use a process known as our EM Ford RiskGuide™. Specific to this article, a piece of our RIskGuide™ includes Fleet Safety.  As an Accredited Fleet Safety Advisor, I will work with a company to identify where they are currently standing from a fleet management perspective. After analyzing the results, we begin working collaboratively with the business on strategies to improve their practices over time. Usually, this will include helping customize a Fleet Safety Program, as well as train a Fleet Administrator on the program. Our fleet programs can include anything from distracted driver training, vehicle maintenance reports, pre & post hire driver training, and continual updates on best practices behind the wheel. By measuring and identifying gaps within your current fleet program, we organically become a partner in your safety team to help implement the appropriate policies, and utilize this to leverage the best business auto insurance rates for your company. 

As an Accredited Fleet Safety Advisor, I become a part of your team and work for you to enhance your automobile insurance program. Once we have identified, analyzed, and controlled your Fleet Safety Program, we are now equipped to finance your auto insurance. This is the point in the RiskGuide process where we now get to show insurance companies all the work we have put in to your Fleet Safety Program. At one time your application was in black and white and you were solely hoping for a company to come back with competitive rates, and now you are a part of the EM Ford RiskGuide process, working with an insurance advisor who is going to bat for your company with proven processes and procedures into place to present to insurance carriers.

The finance portion of our process is where we get to show off our clients and all the work they have put into their fleet safety programs. When we go to market for a client and we have been a part of their safety culture growth, we are proud and excited to paint that picture to all of our underwriters -- no longer is that picture in black and white. Our clients are painted in vivid colors to all of our underwriters because we are committed to telling your story just as you are committed to your employees and their safety.

As you can likely see by now, as an underwriter assigning rates to a risk, receiving an application from an insurance agent in black and white versus receiving a RiskGuide submission from a member of your team can have insurance rates painted in a completely different light. Download our Fleet Safety Guide below to learn more about the steps involved in this process and how we can customize the perfect fleet safety program to drop your business auto rates and protect your bottom line.