When Medina - one of the UK's largest suppliers of milk, dairy and bakery products - commissioned a systematic review of its fleet insurance policies, depots and associated risk management approaches, it uncovered surprising and compelling commercial incentives to make changes.

Responsible for delivering over 400 products on a just-in-time basis for 5,000 locations nationwide, Medina's fleet and risk managers were looking for expert help to improve fleet productivity and reduce operating costs.

Investigations by RSA's fleet team, appointed by Medina and brokers Willis Towers Watson in 2015, uncovered more than 10 fleet insurance policies - each with different insurers and renewal dates. This, along with inconsistent approaches to risk management across recently acquired fleets and depots, was preventing clear visibility of overall fleet performance, meaning opportunities to reduce cost were missed.

As well as working with Medina to bring all its fleet risks under one policy, RSA's fleet team maintained a rigorous focus on risk management by establishing quarterly risk review meetings and helping design training for depot managers (delivered by WTW) that covered legal aspects of fleet management, the hidden costs of accidents, accident investigation best practice and the importance of data quality in claims defensibility.

In 2017, RSA's fleet team also identified further opportunities for performance improvement after studying data from an in-vehicle CCTV trial (using DriverMetrics®, a web-driven behavioural driver safety programme) and driver assessment programme.

Taking a collaborative approach to risk management has seen Medina's claims frequency plummet from 46% in 2015 to around 20% in 2017. A large number of 'nil' claims are also now reported, enabling a proactive approach to handling any third party incidents.

"The businesses we talk to are aware that taking a proactive approach to fleet risk management can help to significantly reduce collisions, incidents, injuries and associated business disruption. But there are also financial and commercial benefits to safer driving - lower premiums, fewer excesses, less need for temporary drivers and replacement vehicles, plus reduced wear and tear and fuel consumption. Establishing a systematic way to manage fleet risks ultimately drives better fleet performance and reduced operating costs."

Michael Tansey, RSA UK Fleet Practice Lead, Risk Consulting

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About RSA Fleet Risk Consulting

RSA’s Fleet Risk Consulting is ideally suited to organisations looking to take a proactive approach to fleet risk management to minimise losses and keep their business moving. Our industry-qualified risk consultants look for practical, cost-effective solutions to complement existing risk management activities, and work with customers to identify and assess risks to build a customised and comprehensive risk improvement programme.

To find out more, visit RSAbroker.com