Collision avoidance in a commercial fleet requires more than standard operating procedures, as leading fire and life safety services provider AI Fire can attest.

Even with a strong emphasis on driver safety, AI Fire’s fleet leaders recognized a history of rear-end collisions leading to commercial auto losses, downtime, service disruption, and, most importantly, danger to drivers and others on the road. Seeking a solution and open to corporate change, AI Fire engaged with Munich Re Specialty Insurance’s (MRSI) Smart Mobility team to embark on a national technology installation to help reduce collisions, losses, and costs, while obtaining insurance through one of MRSI’s affiliated companies, American Alternative Insurance Corporation (AAIC).

The Smart Mobility team helps fleets quantify and mitigate risks with curated technology solutions integrated into a customized commercial auto insurance product offered by AAIC.

The process starts with LossDetect®, a software tool that analyzes a company’s causes of loss and recommends a technology product to better equip the fleet for safety. LossDetect reviews large volumes of data in just minutes, providing fleet managers and corporate leaders with quick, actionable insight. For AI Fire, LossDetect identified key drivers of historical losses and recommended the most appropriate technology to help mitigate them.

The Smart Mobility team engages with leading advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) vendors to make technology more convenient and accessible for commercial fleets. Following the LossDetect® analysis, the team recommended Mobileye, an Intel company, to install an after-market product with five critical alerts to help drivers avert accidents and practice safer driving habits. The new Mobileye° 8 Connect™ is an AI-powered fleet safety solution enabling companies to retrofit their vehicles, rather than incur the high costs of purchasing new vehicles. Over 25 leading auto manufacturers use Mobileye technology in their vehicles. The same team that developed this technology developed the Mobileye° 8 Connect™.

The switch from standard GPS to ADAS provides AI Fire with a significant technology upgrade focused on avoiding collisions, while the insurance serves as an innovative solution to control premium costs by addressing the safety issues.

With brokers Chris Moulder of Worldwide Facilities and Shay Tyler at Insurance Office of America (IOA) evaluating and supporting implementation alongside the Smart Mobility team, AI Fire moved forward with Mobileye° 8 Connect™. But as the calendar turned to March 2020, the world soon came to a screeching halt when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic.

The pandemic slowed — but didn’t stop — the collective effort to install Mobileye devices in AI Fire vehicles across the country. Plans changed, obstacles arose, and the nature of any large-scale technology initiative brought unexpected complexities.

Meanwhile, Senior Director of Risk and Safety Kristen Cooper and National Fleet Manager Ashley Lucia at AI Fire were also balancing business logistics, scheduling, bottom line impact, and the adoption curve among drivers using the new technology.

Over the course of four months during the onset of the pandemic, AI Fire saw Mobileye technology installed in 360 vehicles across the United States. More than a watchful eye, the devices give fleet and corporate leaders a foundation for a true culture of safety. And more than insurance, the Smart Mobility team’s solution is helping to fuel the fleet’s success. Collisions are down, drivers are listening to the alerts, and

AI Fire is developing an internal point system for safe driving, coaching, and incentives.

AI Fire experienced more than a 50% reduction of reported at-fault accidents during 2020. While this may have been impacted by having fewer vehicles on the road during the pandemic, AI Fire believes the improvements will continue both in the company’s data and its culture. There have already been two confirmed instances of pedestrian collision alerts potentially avoiding losses and saving lives.

“The ability to prevent accidents as opposed to simply monitoring them is not something you would usually expect from your insurer,” Cooper said. “At the end of the day, MRSI is helping AI Fire ensure its drivers get home safely at night.”

Learn more about MRSI Smart Mobility: https://www.munichre.com/us-non-life/en/solutions/innovative/smart-mobility.html

Munich Re Specialty Insurance (MRSI) is a description for the insurance business operations of affiliated companies in the Munich Re Group that share a common directive to offer and deliver specialty property and casualty insurance products and services in North America. The Smart Mobility team supports the MRSI operations and uses insurance products and services provided by American Alternative Insurance Corporation, the availability of which varies by state. MRSI assumes no responsibility for the descriptions or representations made here concerning LossDetect® including, but not limited to the accuracy, completeness, or applicability of LossDetect® to any recipient’s circumstances. MRSI and/or its affiliated companies (“Munich Re”) reserves the right to make any changes to the information in this factsheet at any time without notice.  Any representations or warranties made in connection with LossDetect® shall be expressly set forth under a formal agreement.   Munich Re  disclaims any and all liability whatsoever resulting from reliance upon this document. Any trademarks used here, including the description of related services are with the consent of the respective owners. 

For more information on AAIC, go to americanalternativeinsurancecorporation.com and on MRSI go to https://www.munichre.com/us-non-life/en/solutions/specialty-insurance.html.