Latest research from CameraMatics shows that vehicle insurance is the number one concern for small businesses.
Vehicle and fleet safety technology specialists CameraMatics asked over 600 small business owners in the UK, Ireland, and the US about their main vehicle-related business challenge.
Both in the UK/Ireland and USA, business people overwhelmingly told CameraMatics that rising insurance costs came top of their list of vehicle challenges, with 53.3% of UK/Ireland and 33.7% of USA respondents reporting this as their primary concern.
Those dealing with business vehicles report that Commercial vehicle insurance premiums have risen steadily for several years – so its position on the worry list may not come as a big surprise.
However, it is clear insurance is more of an issue for UK/Irish companies as it grabbed over 50% of the vote, compared to the US where it was just a third.
Fuel and Operating costs are the next major concern, with 21.7% of UK/Ireland and 26.1% of USA businesses seeing this as an issue.
Worry about unsafe employee driving received 16.3% of UK/Ireland and 22.3% of USA votes.
Coming last in both territories was vehicle safety & security with just 8.7% of UK/Ireland votes, whereas the USA’s result of 17.9% signified greater concern.
Interestingly, although the percentage of votes in each category varied by location, the order of concern remained the same. It’s fair to say these are very real issues for small business owners the world over, despite local and national issues causing variations, CameraMatics said. Concerns that give business owners an extra headache when they want to focus on making their core business a success.
Insurance providers are clear that robust risk management has a positive effect on premiums and there are many simple and affordable vehicle solutions available to small business owners.
Commenting on the results, CameraMatics CEO Mervyn O’Callaghan said, “Small businesses everywhere rely on vehicles to run their operations. From one or two cars and vans to larger vehicles and bigger fleets: vehicles keep businesses moving and serving their customers. This has never been more important than at present when many services need to be brought to customers’ doorsteps.
He continued, “Insurance is a major driver for businesses deploying our system on their vehicles. Vehicle technology such as cameras and tracking are no longer just for trucks. Proper risk management using technology enables all types of vehicles to become safer and smarter.”
Last year, British insurer Aviva announced that the values of both whiplash fraud and organised fraud (e.g. “crash for cash”) went down 10% and 12.5%, respectively, which CameraMatics suggests could be as a result of increased use of video technology to combat fake claims.
