It’s a challenging time for businesses of all sizes, with rising energy costs and existing supply chain issues, and struggles to fulfil orders in the pipeline whilst generating income and balancing the books.
Here are some practical tips and ways businesses with vehicles on the road can help to reduce their spending.
Motor Insurance
Insurance is an essential part of running a business. As more and more financial constraints and pressures are on the rise there is a requirement to obtain value for money, so it is always good to review how insurance costs can be optimised.
When calculating the premium, underwriters assess risk factors to decide how likely it is that you might make a claim. There are a couple of things that could assist with your next renewal:
Excess – offering to take a higher excess on your policy could lower the premium as you would be in effect paying towards the cost of a claim made.
Eligible drivers – Restricting numbers or types of drivers allowed to use your vehicles could offer savings on your policy.
Risk management – Establishing that you are managing risk in the business may lead to more favourable premiums in relation to your commitment to risk and road safety.
Vehicle storage and security – where is it stored or parked overnight and does it have an alarm
Cameras – dashcams greatly help determine liability.
Vehicle checks – daily check to determine defects or issues that might lead to incidents
Documentation and reporting – providing details of company processes and procedures – do employers know exactly what to do in the event of an incident?
Driver training – any ongoing driver training to produce a road safety mindset
Improved Fuel Economy
Fleet and transport managers will be aware that changes to driver behaviour whilst driving can lead to significant savings, so an increased focus on driver education can really help.
Driving Style – educate drivers as to their driving styles. Over-revving, late braking and aggressive driving can all drink up the fuel.
Watch your speed – Not only does speed use more fuel, but also the risk of fines and points on the license.
Eco mode – if your vehicles carry this feature for fuel efficiency – educate drivers on how and when to activate these modes.
Load – removing excess weight in the vehicle can lead to more miles per gallon
Tyres – ensuring that tyres are well inflated will help with both wear and tear and improve fuel consumption
Route planning – effective journey planning to avoid jams will mean less idling in traffic
Filling Up
As you will be aware, prices at the pumps can vary from provider to provider and can be more expensive at service stations. To help employees to be mindful introduce them to price checker apps and websites to check where the cheapest place is to refuel. Perhaps consider company fuel cards for drivers to make it easier to fill up and monitor spending in this area.
Great practical advice to assist all sizes of business and road users. If you wish to discuss your fleet policy and discuss ways in which to optimise this business spend – don’t hesitate to get in touch with Alex Bingle and the team on 01625 547754