Since telematics was first introduced, some fifteen years ago, it has become a critical tool for fleet managers everywhere. First offering information that was limited to the recording and analysis of journey data, today telematics has advanced to deliver many more features and benefits – for fleet managers and drivers alike.
One of the most valuable of these advantages is the ability to monitor journeys and driver behaviour, continuously updating to ensure ongoing cost efficiency and safety through tweaks to routes and proactive driver training.
Taking A Proactive Approach To Risk Management With Telematics
Telematics also enables fleet managers to take a much more proactive approach to risk management, helping to reduce the frequency of accidents and, when accidents do happen, speeding up the claims process through faster driver reporting times and easier third party capture.
Being overrun by data can be a very real concern, though, and working out how to use the data that is being churned out by a telematics system can prove challenging.
This is where coupling a telematics system with the technology on offer by claims management specialists can be useful.
Why Use Claims Management Companies?
When managing a fleet, of 100, 10 or only a couple of vehicles, managing claims through can be a drain on internal resources. In fact, according to Paul Francis and Sarah Butler in their Strategy&Co report ‘Cutting the cost of insurance claims and taking control of the process’, the cost of processing insurance claims could be up to eighty percent of premiums earned.
Whether that is the time it takes to contact the third parties involved, the contacts required to find the best place to repair your vehicle while it’s out on the road – possibly somewhere on the other side of the country to your headquarters – or the know-how needed to ensure repairs are carried out effectively and efficiently, that is a lot of expense.
Claims management companies can take that hassle out of the claims management process, with the ability to take on the hard work at any stage – from first notification of loss through to managing repairs through an approved network.
Now, many claims management companies are working with telematics systems to offer even more benefits from an outsourced arrangement.
Telematics and Claims Managers – Automating Accident Reporting
While the idea of completely automating accident reporting can seem a little ‘pie in the sky’ and certainly a long way off, claims management companies have been teaming up with telematics providers to work on automated solutions that will increase fleet safety while also reducing the cost of claims for clients.
This collaborative approach will mean easier data processing for analysis. “Certainly this is the case with WNS Assistance”, says James Whittle, Fleet Business Development Manager. “Not wed to any one telematics system, we are able to configure our advanced claims management tool, MotorNet, to work with a range of different technologies to deliver the services and the management information our clients need, whenever they need it.
“We also link telematics to our FNOL team wherever possible, allowing us to be in the know on accidents before the drivers have told us themselves. This allows us to act quickly, informing emergency services if needed, while also making outbound calls to the drivers to ensure data collected is useful, immediate and, therefore, as accurate as possible.”
Reducing Driver Reporting Times For Effective Cost Control
So, telematics, when coupled with a team of 24/7 claims managers and their market leading software, can offer real safety features, placing driver wellbeing and vehicle security at the fore in the moments proceeding an accident. It can also help speed up the claims process, ensuring driver reporting times are low, which in turn helps to ensure more effective third party capture.
This is all kick started by a range of preconfigured system parameters, which can be customised to trigger alerts for certain scenarios, enabling rapid response to severe accidents, eliminating ambiguity as all aspects of the incident have been recorded, and therefore cutting claims costs.
| Time Span Between Accident and Report | Report Features | Benefits |
|---|
| Non-telematics claim | 3-5 days | - Ambiguous
- Incomplete
- Qualitative
| – |
| Telematics claims with automated reporting | Immediate | - Specific
- Objective
- Quantitative
| - Reduced downtimes
- Improved satisfaction
- Cost control
|
With WNS Assistance, this translates into some compelling savings too. When it comes to third party capture, our average savings per repair come in at £400 excluding VAT.
With an average incoming credit hire pack value of £1,097, assuming we have provided a courtesy car rather than a spot hire, savings would add up to the same value, giving a 37.2% saving per pack.
Combatting Fraud For Further Savings
As well as the savings offered to fleet managers in terms of savings made with journey planning and early reporting, telematics is proving to be incredibly useful in detecting fraudulent claims.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) estimates that insurers cover 350 undetected insurance frauds, equating to £3.6million every day.
With telematics, driver behaviour is recorded on a second by second basis allowing insurers to analyse whether the facts presented within a claim are accurate and to determine where fault lies. They can also be used to connect claims, as Insure The Box recently found when they uncovered a fraud ring that involved 31 claims.
WNS Assistance – Effectively Combining Claims Management With The Benefits of Telematics
At WNS Assistance we are working to transform claims management for our fleet clients. Offering a collaborative approach to the use of telematics within our processes, our market leading claims automation technology can be configured to work with a range of systems, with 24/7 support to ensure fast and efficient reporting and easy information analysis.