Three years ago, truck driver Art Strauss invented a mirror that eliminates a blind spot on the right front of truck cabs. He’s having trouble getting fleets to buy the device because he says insurance companies offer no incentives for using technologies with safety advantages.
Should insurance play a role in the adoption of new technology designed to make trucking safer? If insurance underwriters are reluctant to provide rate discounts until a track record of reduced claims and losses can be established, this dilemma, which may affect smaller trucking operations more than larger fleets, could become one of issues in the cost of safety.
Jack Burkert, vice president of Lancer Insurance Co., Long Beach, N.Y., illuminated the question when he told the National Transportation Safety Board Sept. 1 that his company does not offer incentives for adoption of safety technologies (9-6, p. 5).
Several insurers interviewed for this article said that when setting rates, they do take into account a trucking company’s application of safety measures. But none automatically grant credit for companies that install specific technologies, such as collision-warning systems or electronic brakes, unless the investment is reflected in a superior safety record.
For the full story, see the Sept. 13 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
