Both large and small fleets can benefit from integrating telematics into their vehicles. In this article, we break down what telematics is, how large and small fleets can most benefit from it, and how to start creating your telematics strategy. Learn about how telematics works with your insurance provider to offer favorable consideration and reduce risk.

Telematics is the use of GPS technology and onboard diagnostics to track and monitor a vehicle’s movements and report them back via a cellular network. It requires both hardware (sensors and an in-vehicle telematics device, or “black box”) and software to interpret the vast amounts of data gathered. Telematics technology has been around in some form since the 1960s, but only in recent years has it been adopted at scale by the trucking industry.

Telematics is part of a broader strategy for cost containment, helping fleet owners see and understand where cost issues are affecting their bottom line: fuel usage, traffic, travel times, route optimization, and more. Telematics also helps address safety issues, including speeding and driver behavior inside the cab. Commercial auto insurers have also embraced telematics as a way of reducing risk and providing underwriters with a more accurate picture of fleet operations and the respective exposure.

The short answer? All of them. Both large and small fleets, short range and long haul, can reap cost savings and safety benefits with telematics.

• Large fleets: Fleets with a large number of vehicles (50 or more) can use telematics to monitor and track their vehicles’ locations, route efficiency, and traffic conditions. This real-time data means better allocation of resources and increased uptime. Areas of focus may include:
  • Vehicle diagnostics
  • Vehicle inspection reports
  • Idle time vs. uptime
  • Compliance
  • Improve service levels
• Small fleets: Smaller fleets (50 vehicles or fewer) can use telematics on a smaller scale to improve performance and realize cost savings. Since smaller fleets often don’t have dedicated fleet managers, telematics can ease the workload of the person responsible while helping them monitor driver behavior. Improved uptime is especially important for smaller operations, for whom one vehicle can represent a significant portion of the fleet. Areas of focus include:
  • Geographical location and geofencing
  • Job dispatch and messaging
  • Improved utilization

In most cases, you, the fleet owner, own any data derived from your telematics system. You can then choose to provide that data to companies or vendors to help build operational efficiencies or strategies for reducing risk; for example, monitoring cargo or conducting preventive maintenance.

It’s also important to give your commercial auto insurer access to your data. Insurance companies use this data in several ways to customize your insurance and reduce risk.

The first part of building a telematics strategy is determining which metrics are critical to your operations. From there, your telematics provider will help build dashboards to create a snapshot of fleet movements, set up alerts and notifications, and call out and address risky driving behavior.

• What efficiencies are critical to your organization?
• Is there a risk prevention or safety piece that needs implementing?
• Do you need to evaluate different platforms, cameras, or telematics providers to get the results you are looking for?
• Do you have a single position dedicated to telematics strategy and implementation within your organization and driver pool?
• How will telematics integrate into your current systems?
• What kind of support will you receive from the provider?
• Does it need to scale with your business, and can it provide specific types of insights for your type of business?
• What type of adoption will work best for your company?

Like any technology, telematics is one part of risk mitigation for fleet owners. Insurance is the other.

Telematics helps underwriters focus on relevant information to rate the account correctly; for example, pinpointing exposure in a specific part of a state where the fleet operates, rather than using the exposure of the whole state. It also tells your insurer that you are actively using technology to correct driver behavior and mitigate risk hazards before a claim occurs. It shows your dedication to being a safe operation, which is ultimately what an underwriter wants to see on the road.

At Munich Re Specialty, our Mobility practice is committed to not only providing you with comprehensive Commercial Auto Insurance coverage but also helping integrate technology to keep your costs down and your fleet safe.

Source

¹Penske, “2022 Telematics Use and Trends,” https://www.pensketruckleasing.com/resources/industry-resources/2022-telematics-use-and-trends/