What Insurance Telematics and Video Surveillance Could Mean for Last Mile Delivery
From dash cams to doorbells, daily surveillance via telematics is becoming the norm. More likely than not, you’ve experienced some form of telematics—a delivery photo emailed to you as proof of receipt, a red-light camera flashing during your morning commute, or even, as reported by the New York Times, your car alerting you when you’ve gained weight. But how are telematics in trucks being used for insurance purposes, especially within last mile delivery? And can vehicle telematics benefit fleet management?
What are Telematics?
Telematics used for commercial vehicles are a lot more advanced than your every-day GPS or dash cam, but to understand this technology they’re not a bad place to start. Basically, telematics are any technology which sends, receives, or stores information about vehicles using a telecommunication device. Even more simply put, they’re technologies that can track your vehicle and drivers in a variety of ways well beyond just giving directions and recording video.
How do Telematics Relate to Insurance?
Insurance telematics is an umbrella term that describes the use of devices installed in trucks or other delivery vehicles which collect data on a driver’s behavior. This can include but is not limited to cameras. Telematics used by insurance companies can also monitor speed, how hard one hits the breaks, where exactly the driver is traveling and when, how many miles they drive, etc.
Insurance companies are increasingly requiring the use of telematics for their customers. Today, almost all major auto insurance providers, from Progressive to Nationwide, GEICO to State Farm, now either require, or have monetary incentives for drivers to embrace various auto telematics. Beyond these incentives, telematics are invaluable when attempting to file a claim with insurance companies. They provide first-hand proof, not only with video evidence, but also with essential data including information on drivers, location, times, mileage, speed, etc.
With larger scaling and increasing supply-chain issues year to year, it’s no surprise that similar telematics insurance measures are being embraced for commercial vehicles and last mile delivery vehicles. The debate over telematics in trucks has been ongoing for several years, especially around the pros and cons of dual-camera systems and dash cams. (Cameras attached to vehicles which provide both views of both front-facing road views for incident recording as well as a camera facing the driver, for driver-monitoring purposes.) While some say these technologies are problematic—the road equivalent of “big brother is watching you”—others insist that the safety and security they provide—not to mention the money saved through insurance claims and discounts—are well worth it. Either way, insurance telematics is a booming industry, currently estimated at around $214 billion dollars globally. In fact, estimates report that the global telematics market will grow almost four billion dollars in the next four years.
The monetary benefits of using telematics for insurance purposes can be substantial. Director of State Farm, Scott Bruns reports that, “The average discount is between 10 and 15 percent, but we regularly see customers receiving 20 to 30 percent discounts. The maximum is 50 percent.” For Root Insurance, according to co-founder and chief technology officer Dan Manges, these savings can be over 52%.” For fleet companies, savings are generally around 10 to 15 percent.
Additionally, telematics are beneficial because they give insurers other data to base their rates and claim outcomes on. Before these monitoring technologies, most insurance companies would rely on prejudicial demographic information including race, gender, and age.
How Can Telematics Benefit Last Mile Deliveries?
Beyond the benefits telematics provide when dealing with insurance, these technologies have several other advantages for last mile delivery and fleet management overall. They can help cold-store freight trailers monitor timing and temperature information, track freight containers, reschedule container transport based on vital data, and even lower transport costs and help ensure governmental and Duty of Care compliance. Some other ways telematics can be of help:
- Security and Accountability: Telematics, especially location tracking and video software can help locate vehicles that have been damaged or stolen, as well as identifying who is at fault. They can also help with the security of deliveries themselves, supplying irrefutable proof that the delivery has been made. Any mobile asset can be better off with the support of telematics.
- Logistics Data and Efficiency: In today’s world, there is little of more value than data, and the larger amount the better. Telematics can supply that invaluable data for a vast array of situations. From helping with routing efficiency, to driver safety, and even critical information about vehicle repair and service.
- Navigation: Telematics, since they can help locate vehicles and track their routes, are invaluable for not only recording and using that information after the fact, but in directing and navigating drivers in real time.
Get Telematics Today
Speaking of navigation, if you need help navigating telematics for fleet management, Elite EXTRA partnered with Azuga has a wealth of informative articles and tracking products. For more information on last mile delivery and how to help increase efficiency through technologies, contact us today!
Sources
https://www.azuga.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-telematics-insurance
https://www.azuga.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-telematics-insurance
