California Commercial Auto Insurance – Losses & Costs Rising

Right now there are industry-wide challenges with increasing loss costs in commercial and personal auto insurance, particularly in California. If you have a commercial auto insurance policy for your business, you’re probably seeing your premiums increase. If not, you can expect to. I’ve been seeing it with pretty much all major insurance carriers on the market. We’ve been having to shop coverage for clients like crazy due to the steep premium increases.

California Commercial Auto – What’s Driving Losses?

More traffic: Total miles driven increased 50 percent faster in California than in the rest of the country since the start of 2015. More vehicles = higher frequency of accidents.

Distracted drivers: One-quarter of crashes involve drivers talking on phones or texting.

Escalating medical costs: Medical care costs are climbing more than 1.5 times faster than other costs.

More fatalities and other severe accidents: Accident rates per person and per mile
of driving are rising in California.

Inexperienced or undesirable drivers: A shortage of skilled commercial drivers with good driving records = greater odds for accidents.

Rising auto repair costs: Record U.S. auto sales mean garages are often servicing newer cars with more expensive parts. Even minor repairs can cost big bucks.

What you can do to help ease your commercial auto insurance loss costs?

• Implement a fleet safety program and follow proper fleet maintenance procedures.
• Enforce company policy for use of company vehicles (e.g., limitation on personal use, who can use company vehicles, hours of operation, etc.).
• Regularly check employees’ driving records and take appropriate action driving records are not acceptable.
• Use telematic devices to monitor employee driving habits and usage of company vehicles.
• Be aware of the risks involved with employees using their personal vehicles on the job.
• Provide Driver Safety Training for their employees. Important topics include, but are not limited to: Distracted Driving; Speeding; DUI; Need for Rest; What to do if your vehicle breaks down, etc.

Need help with these things? Contact me today. Buying a commercial auto policy is one thing, but implementing these risk management procedures along with the policy can help your business tremendously with costs.

-JK