FIRST and foremost, if you are serious about saving money, find a broker that specialises in transport insurance and makes an effort to get to know you and your business well.

A good broker will explain the pit falls of shopping for the cheapest price and hopefully prevent you from making one of the biggest and most common mistakes in business you could ever make.

The most effective way to manage the cost of your insurance is to minimise any potential claims. Implementing and advising your insurer of some of the following suggestions should result in lower premiums for you.

Risk Management

ACTIVELY manage the risk in your business by conducting regular toolbox meetings; these can be a very productive and cost effective way of identifying certain routes that other drivers may not be aware of and also of any safety or potential incidents they may lead to a claim. Also discuss any recent accidents or potential incidents with the drivers to gauge their thoughts and input as to how it had happened and possible ways to prevent it. Remember the best solutions to any problems will more often than not come from those out there doing it.

Other risk management practices may be: Driver Medicals, Driver Training, Driver Recruitment Standards, Driver Leader boards, etc.

Allocate work/trips to each driver according to their knowledge, familiarity and experience for each specific job. Keep the new or inexperienced drivers on the easier routes until you feel confident with their road craft attitude, driving ability, familiarity with the routes and the clients’ location and accessibility.

If possible, minimise the need to drive through the night and early hours around sunrise, or if not possible, at least allow for more rest stops more often.

Business Activities

SOME other initiatives that may assist in your premium reduction would be to provide your insurer with an accurate description of the radius in which you operate, what percentage of your vehicles operate within each radius (city versus country) and what activities each vehicle conducts within that radius (types of freight carried).

Then there’s the old chestnut “driver monitoring cameras”, love them or hate them, they are here to stay. If you have one, good, if you haven’t then maybe you should! If it can possibly save your life, isn’t it worth having? If you do have one, be sure you let your insurers know as some insurers are already offering discounts for those with approved driver monitoring systems and cameras.