The cost of motor fleet insurance is leading to an increase in demand for advanced driver training. A survey of members of the Irish Road Hauliers Association released last week has revealed their motor insurance premiums had increased by an average of 42 per cent, while their public liability insurance rose by an average of 59 per cent. John Cradden reports
According to the survey, insurance costs now represent between 10 and 15 per cent of the turnover of haulage companies, depending upon their activities.
The employers' organisation, IBEC is currently working on an insurance survey expected to show how rising fleet insurance premiums are resulting in many businesses going to the wall.
"Although the evidence we have so far is anecdotal, we expect to see very significant increases in motor insurance as a proportion of business insurance costs in general," said Tony Briscoe, IBEC's director of health and safety.
Fleet insurance costs are quickly becoming one of the single biggest contributors to the spiralling costs of commercial insurance crippling many businesses, according to employer organisations.
While there are a number of factors responsible for the rising motor insurance costs, the possibility of securing significant reductions in insurance claims and, by extension, insurance premiums has led to a significant increase in demand from companies with large motor fleet for advanced driver training.
Schools that train commercial drivers report increases in demand for driver training of up to 50 per cent in the last two years.
They report that insurance companies are encouraging client companies to train all of their fleet drivers, regardless of how much or little time they spend on the road or the size of vehicle they drive.
Insurance companies are also encouraging extra driver training for ordinary motorists. It's nearly a year since Hibernian launched its innovative "ignition" scheme, which fully subsidises the cost of a one-day training course geared at young and inexperienced drivers. Drivers who complete the course successfully can claim reductions of 20 per cent or more in their premium.
No figures are available to show a reduced accident rate among advanced motorists, but there is enough evidence to show that fleet driver training does reduce claims by companies. It's not clear, however, whether they reduce premiums.
"We've seen dramatic decreases in premium reductions from some of our clients," says Kevin Watters, manager of Allianz Ireland's Risk and Safety Services, which formally launched its driver-training programme for commercial drivers earlier this year.
The programme has been up and running for over four years and has so far trained 3,000 drivers.
"If you measure the cost of claims versus the cost of premiums we can actually see reductions of up to 80 per cent," says Watters.
"The severity of accidents tends to be lessened when the driver involved has been through a training programme because he is better able to deal with situations that arise."
"Driving is now one of the most dangerous work-related activities," says Tommy Hanratty, a trainer with health and safety consultants Nifast, which runs commercial driver training and whose clients include AIB, O2, Cantrell and Cochrane and Tescos.