Regent Insurance has launched Regent Risk Solutions, a system that integrates with the telematics systems of commercial fleet operators to transform data into intelligence that can be used to assist with route planning, scheduled stops, speed management a
According to Wayne Rautenbach, National Manager for Regent Commercial Vehicles (RCV), telematics technology is mostly being used as a basic tracking system, and not being optimised to identify potential areas to reduce risk and costs or to improve productivity by changing driving behaviour.
Rautenbach says that the knowledge of the insurer should be better integrated with fleet telematics systems to help reduce the 14 000 deaths on South African roads every year. According to the Department of Transport, 85% of these fatalities are caused by human error, often involving trucks.
“Regent Insurance, as a leading insurer in the trucking industry, has developed a risk solution to assist reduce these fatalities, help businesses better manage their risk exposure and improve profitability,” says Rautenbach.
“Fleet operators in the Southern African market face challenges such as the global recession, rising fuel costs, an inadequate supply of good drivers, high crime rates and an ineffective rail system. These factors have made fleet owners realise the importance of constantly monitoring their assets and managing the risks within their control to stay competitive.”
Research has shown that traditional transport controllers do not have the time and are often not equipped to handle the flow of information from telematics systems. This results in telematics systems being used purely as vehicle trackers. Regent Risk Solutions addresses this by taking over the hosting, management and maintenance of the client’s database.
“This allows us to monitor all of our insured fleets live and immediately report in real time when violations occur. From critical events such as panics, impacts or battery disconnects, to off-road deviations and unauthorised stops, we are able to assist our clients prevent problems rather than react to them.”
Regent’s ability to monitor, analyse and provide feedback on driver performance, vehicle utilisation and violations assists to improve the effectiveness of our clients’ operations teams and risk, maintenance and marketing departments.
Prior to launching Regent Risk Solutions, two pilot projects were run in Durban to help Regent better understand the nature of the risk being insured. The participating clients each own 20-truck fleets and operate predominantly between Durban and Johannesburg.
Both clients had been running at loss ratios in excess of 150% for the preceding three years insured by Regent and Rautenbach said that the time to continue managing their risk with rates had run its course.
“We needed to identify the behaviour that was driving their ratios and find new ways to manage it.”
Using the clients’ existing on-board fleet management systems, Regent was able to monitor and report on the driving behaviour of the fleets. The exercise revealed that many drivers were speeding or not stopping to rest often enough.
Using this information, new parameters that addressed high risk driving behaviour were set and allowed Regent to start managing their clients’ route planning, speeds, driving hours and scheduled stops. Excessive idling, harsh braking and harsh accelerating were also measured.
The results of the pilots have been pleasing, with the pilot clients running at loss ratios of 29% and 42% respectively for the past twelve months.
“What every business owner wants is a partner who understands their industry and is continuously exploring new ways to help them improve their operations,” says Rautenbach, “We refuse to just calculate insurance quotes and only interact with our clients at claims stage. We want tangible insurance solutions that will accompany our clients on their journey to success.”
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