Given that, when you employed your drivers and assessed their capability to drive, they had all the licenses and relevant experience and there was nothing in their history to seriously impact on your fleet van insurance premium, what have you done to improve upon their skills since?
This sentiment does not solely extend to your van drivers, but to your field agents, too. Everyone who drives a commercial vehicle and is therefore covered by your fleet policy represents your organisation, your brand. It is imperative that they have the relevant ongoing experience and qualifications to meet today’s dynamic and rigorous HSE standards.
Unlike so many other aspects of your business, driver improvement is often ignored – once a driver is employed, he learns the ropes and the drops, and then that’s it until he leaves or retires. However, the more qualified your field and van drivers are, the bigger a tool you have for negotiating cheaper van insurance with your fleet cover provider.
Once you’ve ensured that your drivers are ‘fit for purpose’, you can then take the next step to reducing long term costs by enrolling them on the AA Drivetech driver improvement scheme, available as an Internet-based learning module or practical ‘on-road’ driver improvement training facility. What’s more, if their existing range does not suit your business model, their driver development program can be expertly tailored in-house to suit your organisation’s definitions, whether it be an ongoing driver safety issue, which is not only costing you for ongoing maintenance, but impacting your van insurance quotes year upon year or you are genuine about improving skills – and moral – throughout your business.
The program takes the drivers through a virtual journey – not necessarily rubber on tarmac, but appraises the entire role of the driver within your organisation, how adept he is to drive to accommodate those responsibilities, a look back through their driving history to identify any patterns that highlight a cause for concern and then how well they respond to the new learning and their behavioural patterns throughout this learning curve. And this need not be a one-off – ongoing management of the new skills learnt and how they are adapted into the workplace can be ‘plugged in’ to the FleetRiskManager portal, which accompanies the program.
As well as this off-road aspect, the drivers will also learn skill applicable to driving on UK roads and how to avoid the pitfalls that can have you spending more time with your van insurance provider than your business itself! This will include such areas as anticipating and dealing with hazards, breakdowns and collisions and speed awareness, all of which, if encountered, could put points on their license and blow any chances of you obtaining a cheap van insurance quote when it’s time to renew.
To check out if this level of driver qualification will impact your van insurance renewal, use our van insurance comparison facility, @cheapvaninsurance.co.uk.