Zurich wins Prince Michael Fleet Service Award

Leading insurer Zurich won the Fleet Service Award for its long-established commitment to helping businesses improve their road safety at an official ceremony at London’s Park Lane Hotel hosted by Prince Michael of Kent on December 8 2009.

Commenting on Zurich’s continuing innovative approach to fleet underwriting and risk engineering through its global Transportation Centre of Expertise, Prince Michael said: ‘The company works hand-in-hand with a string of high-profile clients including BT, Nestle, Wolseley, Johnson & Johnson as well as small and medium-sized fleets across the UK’.

‘Having first analysed a company’s risk position, Zurich has developed a wide range of tools as well as management initiatives for customers to implement to drive down their organisations’ risk exposure. There is no doubt that Zurich’ risk-led approach to fleet insurance is paying huge dividends for clients in delivering sustained improvements in at-work driving safety’.

Andy Price, practice leader – motor fleet, Zurich Risk Engineering UK, said: ‘Zurich is delighted that our philosophy towards work-related road risk management has been recognised by the Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards judging panel’.

‘We believe that by taking a technically honest approach towards helping our customers identify, analyse and understand the risks that their drivers face, and by helping them select the appropriate management and/or individually-focused interventions, that this gives them the best chance of achieving a sustainable reduction in their collision rates, helping to reduce injuries and death on the road’.

‘Our approach has led to many of our customers achieving significant, sustainable reductions in their claims frequencies which has helped enhance their safety performance – indeed some of them aware award winners themselves – and has also reduced the direct and uninsured losses associated with every collision. This award will further demonstrate to our customers the effectiveness of our approach towards motor fleet risk management’.

Zurich insures more than 23 million vehicles in more than 40 countries and its risk management-led approach to fleet underwriting is applied through its global Transportation Centre of Expertise, and via its proactive underwriters and risk engineers.

Examples of its approach to fleet underwriting and risk engineering include:

• A significant investment in fleet safety audit and risk-grading tools.
• The taking of a holistic systems-based approach to motor fleet safety.
• Development of cost and actuarial models to engage clients in risk management.
• The implementation of a realistic business model for fleet telemetry.
• Developing and supporting bespoke global, multi-lingual programmes for larger clients.
• Supporting SMEs to roll-out low cost generic fleet risk management initiatives.
• Providing guidance and risk insights.
• Supporting external industry initiatives including Driving for Better Business, Road Safety Week, fleet benchmarking, and leading industry events on work-related road safety around the globe, and championing motor fleet risks at events in the fleet and insurance sectors.

The company’s long term commitment to risk-led underwriting and motor fleet safety is reflected through clients, both large and small, who have been influenced, engaged, supported and in some cases cajoled to develop work-related road safety initiatives with sustainable outcomes.

Additionally, Zurich has published many guidance documents to help fleets focus on managing their vehicle-related risks.