Five Tips To Lower Your Commercial Fleet Insurance Rates
As a fleet operator, you know that your trucks help you bring in profit, but they are also responsible for a large chunk of your bottom line. One place where you can often save costs is with your commercial truck insurance. The following are a few strategies to help bring down the cost of your trucking policy.
1. Hire Drivers With Care
Your drivers have a major impact on your insurance costs. You can lower costs by ensuring that all new hires meet exacting criteria. Drivers with plenty of experience, a strong safety record, and who fall into the low-risk age range for accidents (generally those in their late twenties through retirement age, but this varies by insurance company), will help increase your eligibility for fleet discounts.
2. Implement Route Management Tactics
Your routes can impact your insurance costs. Generally, you want to choose safe routes with low traffic density and lower accident ratings. For example, you may be able to lower your insurance costs if your drivers regularly bypass a large city on the path to their destination instead of braving the metro traffic. You may also be able to lower rates if you choose a winter snow route on a well-maintained interstate, as opposed to a less frequently maintained state route.
3. Ace Your Safety Inspections
Your fleet's safety record may influence insurance rates, so make sure that your fleet is always prepared for a DOT safety inspection. Bad marks on a safety inspection, such as a missing fire extinguisher, can raise red flags with your insurance company, which can lead to a high risk mark on your fleet. Minimize safety risks and your insurance rates may lower.
4. Implement Safe Driving Initiatives
Insurance companies often offer several options to improve driver safety and lower insurance rates. Safe driving programs are a favorite. Check with your agent to see if there are discounts available for safety incentive programs, for example. Another option may be ongoing driver safety training classes. Many insurance companies will even provide a list of qualifying safety courses you can implement to lower insurance costs.
5. Maintain Your Fleet
Finally, keep your fleet maintained. Newer vehicles that are equipped with all the modern safety equipment tend to be less expensive to insure than older fleet trucks, but a well maintained and updated older fleet may be able to garner a few discounts. Your insurance rates will go up if fleet condition results in a lot of claims, so make maintenance a priority.
Contact a commercial truck insurance agent for more help.