Car fleet insurance premiums are on the rise for UK business

London, 9 December 2013
Two-fifths of UK businesses have suffered from rising company car insurance premiums over the past 12 months, new research has revealed.

The survey conducted by TomTom Business Solutions also found 71 per cent of companies do not provide regular training for drivers – a clear indication more could be done by companies to address the risk factors affecting premium costs. Only 36 per cent monitor driver performance as a means of assessing and reducing risk, with less than a quarter of those (22 per cent) using technology to do so.

Currently, a third of all road traffic accidents are believed to be work-related¹ so the onus is on businesses to make such improvements for the benefit of themselves, employees and other road users.

Too often cars are viewed as an employee benefit rather than a place of work, so more can be done by businesses to improve safety, reduce collision rates and drive down the cost of insurance premiums said Giles Margerison, Director UK & Ireland, TomTom Business Solutions. Initiatives such as regular staff communications, safety discussions, driver training and schemes for measuring and improving driver performance are powerful mechanisms for the reduction of road risk

The research also revealed 81 per cent of those questioned include work-related road safety as part of their company’s health and safety policy, but only 57 per cent operate regular risk assessments across their vehicle fleets.

Furthermore, 39 per cent do not have systems or procedures in place to manage driver fatigue and almost a quarter (24 per cent) admit they are not fully aware of their exact requirements for managing road risk.

Duty of Care can often be viewed as a complex issue but that does not need to be the case, especially given the variety of tools available to identify and manage risk factors added Giles. Fleet management technology, for example, provides access to a wealth of actionable data which allows management to quickly identify areas of risk and take action to implement best practice

Download the research document

¹RoSPA, 2013