Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 25 Oct 2013:
I may not know much, but I’m sure that it can’t be cheap to insure a whole fleet of vans if your drivers keep getting into costly road traffic accidents.
Well guess what? One of the biggest commercial van insurance providers out there agrees with me. In fact, AXA Business Insurance even released new research data that indicate how important it is to keep your van or commercial vehicle fleet in top shape, as failure to do so will make it much more likely that the vehicle will be involved in the kind fo accident that raises your van insurance rates.
AXA said that the vast majority of van owners do indeed service their vehicles at least annually, but for those that don’t bother to do so (around 6 per cent) nearly all of them have been in at least five accidents over the past five years. It’s obvious here that neglecting your vehicle is an absolutely poor choice, as faults and defects will develop and, if remained unchecked, will only make things messier for you in the long run. Sure you may be saving a few quid by not taking your van into the local garage to get tuned up, but when your insurance bill comes round after the inevitable accident you’re going to wish you took the time out to get your van checked out!
It’s more than just keeping your equipment in good nick, though. In fact more news this week detailed how you’ve got to spend time keeping your drivers trained if you want to maximise the potential for a safe and accident-free fleet of commercial vans.
Experts say that the best way to ensure your drivers act accordingly is to fit your vans with dashboard cameras, but it’s not just about spying on your employees or contractors; no, it’s more about providing valuable coaching to an otherwise good driver that makes an unfortunate mistake now and again. Not only that, but making sure your van is fitted with a dashboard camera will also protect your driver and your firm from other motorists – especially anyone trying to pull a fast one on you by staging an accident in order to undertake a car insurance scam! Your drivers might not like the idea of being surveilled, but they’ll change their tune once they realise that the obtrusive dashboard camera just cleared them of any wrongdoing in that next rear-end shunt.