Is it common in industry to require fleet drivers to pay a portion, or all, of the insurance excess for at-fault claims?
Fleet drivers have a substantially higher risk of being involved in a motor vehicle incident than non-fleet drivers. Fleet safety management is a key factor in encouraging safe driving behaviours in employees and subsequently reducing the frequency of these incidents and incident-related financial losses.
Requiring drivers to pay a portion, or all, of the insurance excess for at-fault incidents is becoming an increasingly prevalent strategy implemented within fleets. These policies are ‘consequence approach’ strategies that aim to disincentivise dangerous driving behaviours which result in preventable vehicle incidents. These policies, however, are not the right fit for every organisation and require careful consideration before implementation.
This Q&A draws on the expertise of leaders in the fleet management industry to explore and evaluate excess charge policies for at-fault incidents.
In consultation with industry professionals, the NRSPP has developed a new Q&A to explore the effectiveness of implementing excess charge policies.
We hear from organisations who advocate for such policies: “Safety behaviour gets more traction if failure comes with a financial cost…”. Conversely, we hear from those who believe there are other ways to achieve safety: “[excess charge policies] are a coarse measure to minimise something which is far more nuanced in the workplace.”
Partners from Ausnet, Blacktown City Council, Bosch, Eco-Fleet, Fleet Strategy, Hydro Tasmania, IAG, Jemena, Monde Nissin, Santos, Southern Cross Protection, Telstra, TWU, Uniting Care, Vero and Zurich share their insights on their experiences with these policies.
Read our newest Q&A, ‘The Consequence Approach to At Fault Claims’, here.