29 Oct Fleet Response Offers Program to Collect and Verify Insurance Coverage for Reimbursement Drivers
A new development for managing risk inherent to reimbursed drivers
• Companies struggle to manage compliance with safety polices for reimbursed drivers
• Collection and verification of adequate insurance coverage presents the most difficult burden
• A new bundle of online tools from Fleet Response provides a turnkey solution to manage
There is no consensus whether it’s better to operate a leased fleet vs. a reimbursement fleet. Each has its role, and many companies utilize some combination of both. But Michael Bonacci, Midwest Regional Sales Manager at Fleet Response, is in position to know what keeps risk and fleet managers up at night.
“I’m seeing more and more organizations that want to talk about administration of their reimbursement program,” Bonacci says. “The fact is, whether an employee is driving a company-provided vehicle or their own, the risk exposure to the company remains high. What I’m hearing concern about is risk management on the reimbursement side.”
The key components to managing risk in any type of fleet are conducting regular MVR sweeps to keep unsafe drivers off the road, providing safety training and a meaningful safety culture, and assuring vehicles are properly insured and well maintained. It’s the last two points that make reimbursement fleets hard to manage.
“When you look at even just pulling the MVRs, that’s a big task,” Bonacci says. “Add in verifying every reimbursed driver has proper insurance coverage. In many cases, that’s just not getting done.”
That’s why Fleet Response has introduced the Reimbursed Driver Compliance Program
It includes:
• MVR sweeps – annual, twice a year or monitored continuously.
• Collection of drivers’ insurance declarations.
• Auditing insurance declarations.
• Fleet Response VISIBILITY, the proprietary portal that gives our customers on-demand access to complete documentation for every driver.
Fleet Response also has a national network of approved auto repair facilities that could be mobilized to provide routine vehicle wellness checks – though Kari Hagan, Director of Client Development at Fleet Response, concedes there isn’t much demand right now for that aspect of the program.
“It’s the insurance piece that our clients are most worried about,” she says. “It’s something most companies aren’t doing at all. Others are trying to do it, and it’s such time-consuming work, they probably aren’t doing it very well – and they recognize that,” Hagan says. The program has been on the market for a few years, but interest has spiked over the past several months.
Like all Fleet Response products, Hagan emphasizes the program’s flexibility and visibility. “You can choose the offerings you need, and we configure them to align with your business rules and processes. Everything can be accessed through the VISIBILITY portal,” Hagan says.
Bonacci adds that it delivers the accountability for which Fleet Response is known: “Administratively, we handle everything. We assign a dedicated safety coordinator to each account, and they work with the driver and everyone at the organization to make sure the documents are on file and tasks are completed. And when the insurance is about to expire, we send a notification to the driver and anybody else the company wants us to send it to, and have the driver provide us with updated documentation.”
Cost for the program varies, depending on the features utilized. But the monthly cost per driver is in the ballpark of the price of a cup of coffee. “But coffee keeps you awake,” Bonacci quips. “The point of the Reimbursed Driver Compliance Program is to help you sleep.”
To discuss how Fleet Response can help manage the risk for your reimbursed fleet, contact Jeff Fender, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Fleet Response, contact@fleetresponse.com.