Dealing with insurance claims is every logistics manager’s nightmare. The process is especially painful if you’re making do with incomplete or bad information. What should be an open and shut case can drag out, turning into months of tit-for-tat and he-said-she-said testimony. Many haulage companies lose a lot of money and time to this process, and those who have to deal with it become stressed and frustrated.
Data Gathering Technology
All this helps explain why new data gathering technologies are so popular in the transport industry. If you have accurate, objective information in the form of video or telematics data, the claims process can become a lot easier.
Still, many firms must deal with multiple systems from multiple providers, making organising and analysing information all the more difficult. Camera Telematics aims to change that with its new Street Angel, now launching in the UK.
Street Angel
When designing Street Angel, Camera Telematics aimed to fill a simple need, providing haulage companies and other customers with an integrated system to record, store and save video and telematics data. In the words of the company’s group managing director, Mark Stamper, they aimed to make a product that ‘uniquely delivers all the features required in one device.’
By most measures, they’ve succeeded. Street Angel has over 20 functions, including:
•24-7 support from staff, responding to and resolving any serious issues.
•Flexible upgrade options, enabling firms to adjust the system to each vehicle.
•128GB of internal memory, removing the need for an SD card.
•4G connectivity, allowing continuous transmission of data to the server.
•An SSL encrypted server, keeping data safe and secure.
Launched in Ireland in 2016, the system has already met with success: over 200 businesses adopted it in the first 18 months.
The Problem
While the gains such technology can provide might seem incremental, research demonstrates that the absence of accurate information can seriously inflate claims. Recent studies show that failure to capture data can increase incident costs by a staggering 965%, while AXA Insurance reports seeing claims worth £5,000 costing haulage companies as much as £50,000.
How Street Angel Helps You
The technology’s main benefit is that it provides firms accurate information admissible in court, improving their ability to defend against fraudulent claims and decreasing the time spent settling genuine ones. This, Stamper notes, also gives managers peace of mind, ensuring safer driving on the part of their own fleet.
Collision data is automatically transmitted, ensuring haulage companies are the first to know when one of their vehicles has been involved in an incident. This enables a speedy response, increasing firms’ control over outcomes.
The large internal memory removes risks of SD card failure, while the 128GB size and constant backup significantly decreases the chance of the memory filling up and information getting lost.
All in all, Street Angel promises a lot to managers keen to increase their ability to defend against and respond to claims. Haulage companies need to be ready for collisions no matter how competent their drivers are, and this system allows them to guard against any issues.
Norman Dulwich is a Correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry. Haulage Exchange provides services for matching drivers or haulage companies with available jobs. Over 5,400 member companies are networked together through the Exchange to fill empty capacity, get new clients and form long-lasting business relationships.
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