Chauffeur cuts cost per claim by 50%

A large chauffeur business has seen its cost per claim cut in half since choosing fleet accident management.

Tristar Worldwide operates about 550 vehicles in the UK, and in 2007 signed up to the accident management service provided by The Legal Consultancy.

Previously Tristar had been effectively self-insured, with an insurance company administering fault accidents, but fleet manager Janusz Kozlowski said that although the process was as efficient as it could be, the company was concerned that its instincts often differed from the insurance company when it came to dealing with claims.

He said occasionally an insurance company would advise fighting a claim Tristar would have preferred to settle and vice versa.

The Legal Consultancy uses delegated authority from clients’ insurers to process claims and all Tristar drivers are given PDAs to report claims rapidly.

Kozlowski said it gives claimants less time to speak to third parties, such as accident compensation specialists, that might encourage them to inflate the claims.

He said Tristar also has its own bodyshop which third parties are also offered as another way of minimising its costs.

Kozlowski said: “Our cost per claim up to 2007 was running at about £1,400, but since using the accident management service provided by The Legal Consultancy, they have fallen to about £700.

“We’ve had some positive feedback in many cases too.

"In one case where we damaged a third-party chauffeur vehicle, we were able to supply another chauffeur vehicle through the accident management service, and put the damaged car through our bodyshop for repair.

"It was back with the driver within three days and he was satisfied with the service provided.”

Kozlowski added The Legal Consultancy package can also offer physiotherapy for personal injury claims by third parties.

Employers’ advice – managing at-risk drivers

• Appoint a senior manager to have responsibility for safety and make safety a priority without your company.
• Write a safe driving policy, communicate it throughout the organisation and review it regularly.
• Check drivers’ licences regularly to ensure they are still clean and valid.
• Conduct a comprehensive assessment of your drivers’ skills, attitudes and knowledge at least once a year.
• Monitor your drivers to help you identify and deal with poor driving before a driver’s assessment is due.
• Develop a procedure to report all incidents, no matter how small, and analyse incident reports as often as possible to identify incident-prone drivers.
• Ensure drivers do not work shifts that are too long.
• Raise drivers’ awareness of the consequences of risk-taking on roads and steps they can take to keep themselves and others safe.

Source: Brake