Specialising in providing insurance in the dangerous goods sector, OAMPS says it has had its lowest claims year on record for heavy vehicles. According to Grant Stillman, head of DG insurance at OAMPS and a 30 year veteran in the insurance business, there are a lot of lessons that can be drawn from analysing insurance claims.
“We are currently experiencing our best run in history with claims reducing year on year ” said Stillman. “We had one spike two years ago which highlights how volatile the industry can be even with the most risk conscious clients.”
According to Stillman, the reduction in claims is not due to luck but a focus by the insurers and also the companies insured to “get it right” with proper systems and procedures.
“There has been a lot of focus of late about tanker maintenance, yet our records show that we have not had to pay out on one claim based on poor maintenance in years,” said Stillman. “OAMPS main concern is driver error that leads to accidents. More than 70 per cent of our claims are attributed to driver error. It is where the focus should be to reduce accidents in this sector.
“Whilst OAMPS would not dispute that having properly maintained vehicles is essential, the evidence that the current fleet is both poorly maintained and therefore causing a safety risk does not stack up from an insurance claims perspective.
“At the end of the day, the buck stops with the insurance companies. We see all claims related incidents and go through them with enormous care to determine fault. It is our business. Our major focus is with the driver and his ability to focus on the job.”
OAMPS said it is supportive of in-cab cameras to continuously record drivers and the road ahead. “It has been a wonderful invention that allows companies to assess near misses as well as accidents. There is nothing like vision and audio in any post analysis to determine the causal factors. It is not expensive but it is very effective,” said Stillman.
“I am confident that if we focus on the driver and how to improve their work life and focus on the job that we will see a further and sustained reduction in incidents and claims over time. It’s our focus and I would encourage others to go there as well.”