The cost of auto insurance is a leading concern for small business owners. This was the finding of a study by vehicle and fleet safety specialists, CameraMatics.
CameraMatics asked around 600 small business owners in the US, UK, and Ireland about the challenges surrounding busines vehicles. The responses were overwhelming related to the rising cost of auto insurance.
Auto Insurance Costs Challenge a Small Business
Over 53% of respondents from the UK and Ireland said auto insurance was their top challenge. 33.7% of small business owners from the US reported escalating auto insurance costs as their primary concern.
Concerns About Fuel and Auto Operating Costs
After the rising cost of auto insurance, fuel and operating costs were the next major concern for small business. 26% of respondents from the US believe costs associated with fuel and operations are a significant challenge. Over 21% of small business owners in the UK and Ireland have similar worries.
With the setbacks the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to small businesses, rising auto insurance rates are more concerning than ever. For businesses that operate company cars or fleets of vehicles, rising auto-associated costs are especially concerning in the current climate of budget cuts.
Robust Driver Risk Management Needs to be in Place
Given the concerns about rising auto insurance costs, the need for businesses to have robust risk management strategies in place to keep premiums low, is more important than ever.
Commenting on the importance of driver risk management, 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.
“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,” O’ Callaghan continued.
In the US, more than 22% of small business owners worry about unsafe driving, CameraMatics’ study found. This compares to 16.3% of businesses in the UK and Ireland which have similar concerns.
The key message from the study is that small businesses in both the US and the UK and Ireland have real concerns about auto costs and operations. Such apprehensions can be particularly disconcerting at a time when businesses should be focused on making their core business a success.
To help counter such concerns and rising costs, it is more important than ever businesses have robust and comprehensive risk management strategies in place. This way, premiums can be kept low and vehicle running costs made more affordable to small business owners operating on tight budgets.
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Image: Depositphotos.com
Will be interested to see how COVID impacts this. In some regards, it will reduce driving, but in other areas there is a lot more driving (deliveries).